


The Alley Out Back

by rinthegreat



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Basketball, Alternate Universe - College/University, Homophobia, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Violence, lemon in later chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-01-17 03:39:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1372561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started with a failed game of pool at the beginning of the summer. Now it's his senior year of college, and Naruto is stuck trying to figure out what is wrong with his bastard teammate who can't seem to leave him alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Time

**Author's Note:**

> Story is already complete; I'm just revising each chapter before I update. They should be weekly.

Naruto was seriously irritated. He'd been talked into hanging out at the local bar, the Akatsuki, by his best friend, Kiba. Now, normally, Naruto liked going to the bar. Ok, let's be honest, he  _loved_  going out. It meant he could hit on as many girls as he wanted – and he was pretty lucky in the numbers department – and drink however much he desired with a damn near guarantee he'd get a taxi home or…wherever.

But tonight, they came for one reason; to play pool. Naruto sucked at playing pool. And if there's one thing the blond didn't enjoy, it was sucking at something. He wasn't used to it. In high school he'd been team captain – or co-captain – for every sport he'd done. The term "you suck" was never used against him when it came to anything physical. Except pool.

There was something about the combination of physics, geometry, and subtle movements that didn't suit him. Not only did he suck at the sciences – he was really more of a liberal arts guy – but there was also nothing  _subtle_  about Uzumaki Naruto. His favorite color, after all, was orange. Bright, eye-burning orange – though Kiba had talked him out of it and forced him into some lighter jeans and a white button up for the night. Then there were his muscles. Hey, a guy this hot had to take care of his body.

He shook his head and focused back on the table before him. He could see Shikamaru's bored stare, and Kiba was obviously getting irritated with waiting this long for the blond to make his move. He bent forward, sticking his ass out just a little – for the group of girls starting at him – and struck the white ball. It hit the triangle just off where he was aiming and…nothing. Not a single ball went into a goddammed hole. He scowled. The girls were giggling at him.

"Dammit, Naruto can you do anything right?" Kiba laughed at him.

"Shut it, dog breath. I told you I was bad at this game." It was his own fault for inviting Naruto to play in the first place.

"Aw, I'm just teasing. Besides, it would've defeated the purpose if you were good at it."

"What?!"

"You're too loud," Shikamaru cut it, taking his turn. Perfect shot. How did he do that?

Kiba took his shot. "Sometimes beating 'the great Naruto' at something is fun." He grinned when several of the pool balls found their way into the table.

"Har har. You're such a dick sometimes."

"Language, Naruto. There are ladies present." They turned to welcome the newcomers. Ino, blonde with a banging body, arrived followed by her latest conquest: heavyweight college boxing champion, Chouji. It was a mystery to Naruto why someone as hot as Ino was dating someone as…off as Chouji. But he knew better than to ask her; last time he questioned her taste in men he'd ended up with a black eye for a week. Kiba had laughed his ass off at that.

He grinned easily. "Ladies? Where?"

Ino smacked his head.

"Tactful as ever, idiot. Are you going to make your move or do you give up already?" The voice of his best friend brought Naruto back to the present.

"Calm your tits, dog-boy. I'm still playing." He focused, leaned over, and took his shot. Yes! One of them went into a hole! Wait. Shit. It was the white ball.

"I think you should just give up. You really suck at this game," Ino said wisely.

"Shut up! Don't you know who I am? I am the great Uzumaki Naruto! I never give up!"

"God, Naruto, you're so loud." He immediately straightened up and wiped the scowl off his face. His one true love was here.

He spun around to greet the gorgeous girl. "Sakura! Hey! I didn't know you were coming." The last comment was directed angrily toward Kiba, who shrugged as if to say 'nobody told me either.' Whatever.

Sakura was wearing a pink halter top and white mini skirt with pink frills at the bottom. Her hair was down, matching pink for pink. She looked gorgeous, as usual. "It was a last minute decision. Ino talked me into it."

Now, Naruto was notorious for not being the smartest person in the world, but he could read people better than some of them could read themselves. So when he saw the sad smile pass between the two girls, he knew something was up. But given the situation, he knew he couldn't ask them now. He made a mental note to approach Ino next time she walked over to get alcohol. Which was right about…now.

"You guys want anything? I'm gonna get a drink."

"I'll come!" He dropped his stick and made to follow her.

"Oy! Are you planning on quitting?" Kiba's angry growl followed him.

"Just have Chouji play till I get back!" He shouted back to them. And he could swear he heard Shikamaru mutter "troublesome" before he disappeared into the crowd after the blonde girl.

"Wait up. Sheesh." He finally caught up to her. The crowd around the bar was ridiculous. They would have to fight to get to the front if they were serious about drinks. But Ino didn't seem to be in a rush. As soon as they were stopped, she turned to him.

"Spit it out, Naruto."

"Spit what out?"

"I know you, Uzumaki. You wanted to talk about something. You were practically begging me to come over here."

"I didn't say anything!"

She shrugged. "Don't have to. I can read you."

It was true; she could read him. She read him so well it was scary. Naruto assumed it stemmed from the time they dated freshman year of college. They found out they were incompatible as far as a relationship went but got along really well as friends. They continued to sleep together for a bit after the break up. What could he say? The sex was great.

"I saw the look you gave Sakura. What was that all about?"

She sighed. "I figured it was that." She fixed him with a glare before speaking again. "Don't get your hopes up. Ok? She's having a hard time."

"Wait. Did they break up?"

"Perceptive. What gave it away?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He ignored it. "So she finally saw what a bastard he was and dumped his ass. Good riddance."

"You can be such an insensitive jerk sometimes."

"What?"

" _She_  didn't dump  _him_ , you idiot.  _He_  dumped  _her_."

"What a dick!"

"What can I get you guys to drink?" They both looked around in surprise; they'd been so focused on the conversation, they hadn't even noticed the crowd had pushed them right against the bar.

"Long Island ice tea, for me," Ino said.

"And I'll have a beer!" Naruto yelled after the disappearing bartender. He was so obvious about only helping the hot girls. Honestly. If Naruto didn't get his drink he'd jump over the bar and get it himself. And then punch the guy in the face.

Lucky for him, the bartender returned with both their drinks. They grabbed them and made their way slowly back to the pool area.

"So why'd he end it?" He couldn't contain his curiosity.

"I'm not really sure. I don't know if Sakura knows either. She mentioned something about him being into someone else, but I doubt that. I mean it  _is_  Sasuke we're talking about. All the girls want him, and he's just never…interested."

"It's because he's a bastard with a perpetual stick up his ass."

"Ha ha. So funny." She rolled her eyes.

They made it back to their friends. One look at the table revealed that Chouji was kicking both Kiba and Shikamaru's ass. Who knew? Ino immediately jumped over to him and began cheering him on.

Naruto, deciding pool was no longer worth it, sat next to Sakura. She was staring at the game as if not seeing it, holding her still full rum and Coke in her hands.

"Hey," he said by way of greeting. She looked over at him, as if surprised to see him there.

"Naruto."

"That's my name. Don't wear it out. Or do. I really don't mind."

"You're such a flirt," she said dully. It was their usual encounter, but she'd lost her fire.

He wasn't sure if he should bring it up. After a moment he decided he could go for the comforting angle. If it were a secret, Ino wouldn't have told him; she knew he could never keep his mouth shut.

"Look, Sakura. I heard what happened. I'm really sorry." She blinked at him, her eyes revealing some of the hurt she must've been feeling. But she didn't offer anything, so he continued. "And if you ever need anything, you know I'm always here for you."

If Sakura were a weaker woman, Naruto would swear she'd be crying by now. As it was, she looked close to tears. She opened her mouth to say something, but Naruto interrupted her, suspecting what she was going to say, but not wanting to hear it.

"Don't say anything. Just drink. It'll make you feel better." He was stretching the truth, and they both knew it; drinking didn't make anyone feel any better. But it would hopefully loosen her up enough that she would be more willing to join in with the group.

"Thanks Naruto," she muttered, taking a large sip from her drink.

An hour or so later, the bar was more crowded than it had been before. Naruto was on his third or fourth beer, he wasn't really sure. At some point, Ino had thought it was a great idea to order a round of vodka shots, and he'd had enough to feel pleasantly light headed. He knew it was a shitty idea to mix beer and liquor, but Naruto had a strong stomach; this wasn't his first rodeo.

Sakura had finished her first rum and coke, declined the shots – Naruto took hers when nobody was looking – and was working on her second. She wasn't the world's heaviest weight, but she could handle two of those; he'd seen it before. With some encouragement from their friends, she'd even joined in cheering on the pool games. Naruto had somehow been convinced to try again, and he seemed to get even worse after a few drinks, if that were possible.

"Shit!" He exclaimed as the stupid white ball of torture – as he'd dubbed it – flew right off the table, and rolled over just to be stopped by someone's shoe. His eyes followed the shoe up the dark jeans, over the black shirt to the man's face. Well, fuck.

The raven-haired man bent over and picked up the offending ball. He brought it over to the table and dropped it. Everyone in the group had grown quiet. Somewhere behind him, Naruto was positive Sakura was chugging the rest of her rum and coke like her life depended on it.

"Loser, you seem to have dropped your ball." And then he  _smirked_. Naruto flushed at the obvious implication.

"Bastard!"

"Oh, how original." He was still smirking.

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?" Kiba challenged with a glare. By this time, everyone knew about him and Sakura no longer being an 'us'. And, as expected of Naruto's group, they sided with Sakura. They didn't even need to know the story.

"I can't come play pool with my friends?" He indicated to the group behind him. His usual posse of Neji, Karin, and Suigetsu were standing there. Naruto had no problem with the group in general; it was just the arrogant bastard he hated.

"No. You can't," Ino said bluntly, standing almost protectively in front of Sakura. It seemed like Sasuke just noticed his recent ex, because his eyes widened slightly. Just as Naruto was sure he'd imagined it, the look was gone. The bastard opened his eyes to say something, but a soft voice came from behind the Uzumaki.

"It's fine. I was just leaving anyway." Sakura brushed past Naruto, holding an empty glass. She was flushed, whether from the alcohol or anger, he wasn't sure. Either way, he knew he couldn't just let her walk away.

"Here, I'll get you a cab, Sakura."

If he'd been paying more attention, he might've noticed the brief look of anger that flashed across Sasuke's face. Instead, he ignored it completely. Sakura tried to shake him off, but he wasn't having it. He wasn't going to just let her walk away when she was obviously upset and under the influence. As if sensing his urgency, Ino jumped to his aid.

"We're actually headed out too. Come on Chouji."

The guy grumbled a bit, but followed his girlfriend and Naruto as they chased after Sakura. They finally caught up to her outside the building. Ino called for a taxi, and Chouji snacked on some peanuts he'd stolen from the counter. That left Naruto alone with Sakura.

"I can always come home with you. Just to make sure you're ok." He wasn't going to try anything with her; he was just genuinely concerned. She'd been obsessed with Sasuke since high school and he'd finally given her a chance this year. To be let down like this must've been torture.

"Thanks Naruto, but I'd really prefer to be alone right now."

"Ok, but just promise me that if you need anything –"

"Naruto!" She shouted, her face so pink it almost matched her hair. "I don't need you to babysit me!"

Ino and Chouji were now staring at them, as well as the people walking by on the sidewalk.

"Ok. Ok. I'm sorry." Why was he apologizing? She'd just yelled at him.

"Look, Naruto," she was looking at him with that same expression she'd had on earlier when he'd interrupted her. A feeling of foreboding settled in his stomach. "I'm sorry. I know you mean well and all. And I know you've been into me since high school."

"It's fine. You don't have to say it…"

"No, but I do. You're a great guy. Really, you are. I couldn't imagine having a better friend than you. But that's all you'll ever be to me; a friend. I don't think of you like that, Naruto."

His stomach sank. It wasn't like he didn't know, after all the times he'd been rejected by her in the past. But hearing it out loud made it more real, more final. And then she pounded the final nail into the coffin.

"You're like a brother to me, and I will never be able to have romantic feelings for my brother." Suddenly he felt like he was the one who was going to cry. Instead, he did what he always did when someone delivered world-shattering news to him; he smiled. It was the fakest smile he had.

"Ha. Yeah. Brother. Ha." He was spared anymore pain when the cab finally pulled up. Still trying to play the part of the gentleman, he opened the door for her and their friends. After they all piled in and he'd closed the door, Sakura looked out the half open window.

"Naruto, I'm sorry."

She needed to stop talking or his mask was going to fall off completely.

"Don't worry about it!" Anyone could tell he was faking it by the way his voice broke when he shouted. "See ya later!" And he walked away before his heart could break anymore.

It was scary how quickly he was able to collect himself in the alley. It was something he'd learned after years of being viewed as a 'freak' and having his friends slowly taken away from him. Feeling slightly better, though not sure why, he stood up and walked back to the bar.

The bouncers knew him pretty well by now, but he still flashed his I.D. at them; proof he was over 21. As expected, his friends were still playing pool, but Sasuke and his posse had joined them. Naruto decided that he'd feel even better after kicking Sasuke's ass at pool. And hell, if he couldn't, then he'd just beat him with the stick.

"Mind if I rejoin?" He asked when he got back, plastering a grin on his face. Sasuke gave him a strange look, as if the grin weren't fooling him. Kiba, on the other hand, mirrored Naruto and tossed him a stick.

"You're just a glutton for punishment, dude."

"Nah. I just want to kick the bastard's ass."

"As if you could, loser." The strange look on Sasuke's face disappeared and was replaced with a cocky smirk. He held his pool stick like he was made for it, and it was starting to get the attention of a lot of the girls in the bar.

"You'll be eating your words then, asshole." And with that, Naruto grabbed a pool stick and succeeded in failing at his shot.

By now, they were getting a crowd of admirers. Most of the girls were eyeing Sasuke with a look Naruto knew all too well, but he and his group had their admirers as well. He wasn't sure what a lot of the girls saw in the bastard in the first place. Sure, he was usually Naruto's co-captain back in high school, and they were both varsity athletes in college now, so he wasn't in bad shape. He was slightly taller than Naruto too, by maybe an inch or two – Naruto blamed Sasuke's slightly better basketball skills on this, but never out loud. But other than that, he wasn't all that.

Ok, so yeah, he had flawless skin. And his eyes had this dark mystery to them. And the way his stomach was slightly bared by how he was leaning was definitely attractive. Not to mention – stop. Uchiha Sasuke was  _not_  attractive. Plus, Naruto was definitely into Sakura.

At the thought of the pink haired girl's name, he instantly felt his mood drop again. He didn't put any effort into his next attempt, and it showed. He didn't really notice Sasuke walk over to him until he was standing right there.

"Loser."

"What?" Naruto was immediately back on the defensive, glaring up at the Uchiha defiantly.

"If you're not even going to put in an attempt, then I don't want to play you."

The blond flushed at those words. "Shut up," was the brilliant response he came up with.

"You're not even holding it right." He ripped the pool stick out of Naruto's hands.

"Hey! That's mine!" Of course, the bastard ignored him.

Resting one hand on the green table before him, he leaned over, gripping the pool stick gently in his other hand. Naruto swallowed; Sasuke's shirt had revealed some of the Uchiha's back and he was having a hard time concentrating on anything but the way the muscles were tightening as he moved his arm back and –

"Are you even paying attention?"

The blond forced his eyes up to meet the raven's face. To his embarrassment, he found he was blushing. Apparently, the other noticed it as well, because he raised one eyebrow in response.

"Uh," he swallowed again. What was wrong with him? This was Sasuke. And he was a guy for god's sake! "Yeah."

A ringing brought them out of the awkward tension that had just built. Kiba reached into his pocket and answered his phone.

"Sup?" Pause. "Oh hey, Hinata!" Momentarily forgetting the situation, Naruto rolled his eyes. Kiba's voice always did something weird whenever his girlfriend called. He made a mental note to give him shit for it later. Kiba hung up.

"What's up with the missus?"

"Can it, idiot."

Naruto stuck his tongue out in response. Really mature, he knew.

"She wants me home."

"Actually Temari just texted me too. I'm gonna head out."

"Guyyyyyyys," Naruto whined. He hated these small reminders that he was  _still_  the only single guy in the group.

"As much as I'd love to stay and see what the fan girls make of you and Sasuke's little pool lesson, I really have to go."

"Dog breath…" Naruto growled threateningly.

"See ya later!" They left! They left him alone with the bastard and his posse! Wait a second… Naruto looked around. His cousin and the rest of Sasuke's select group of friends had already disappeared. He looked questioningly back at the Uchiha, who shrugged.

"I figured they'd head out. This isn't really their scene."

Which meant he was alone with the goddammed bastard. And all the fan girls, who – like Kiba had suggested – looked far too eager to have them continue where they left off. Sasuke was apparently a little too willing to oblige, as he moved directly behind Naruto.

The blond felt his mouth go dry again. Dammit. A touch on his shoulder made his blush reappear. He must be really drunk if he was feeling like this around Sasuke. He ignored the lack of haziness that usually accompanied having one too many drinks and shook his head; he was still convinced he was drunk.

"You hold it like this," a breath flew by his ear, causing Naruto to feel a sudden twitch in his pants. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was  _not_  getting a hard on from the bastard. No way. Without thinking, he leaned over the way he'd seen Sasuke do it moments before and heard a slight gasp behind him. His ass hit something hard behind him, and he realized he wasn't the only one with this 'little' problem. Something was seriously wrong with the pair of them.

With Sasuke's guidance, he brought his arm back and smoothly moved the pool stick forward, between their entwined fingers. To his great surprise, they managed to actually get a few to go where they were supposed to.

"Yes!" Naruto jumped up and out of Sasuke's hold and spun around, celebrating. He just stood there, arms crossed with a bored expression on his face. Typical bastard behavior.

"Did you see that? I totally scored!"

A chorus of giggles followed Naruto's outburst and brought him back to reality. He looked around at all the girls surrounding them. Some of them  _actually_  had their phones out and were obviously taking pictures of him and Sasuke. They were probably sending the pictures to their friends too. Or posting it on the internet. Dammit. He was never going to get the girls' numbers if they thought he was gay!

Feeling suddenly like he wanted to not be the center of every yaoi fan-girl's fantasies, he dropped the pool stick on the table.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving." He drained the remainder of his beer and slammed it on the table as well.

"Idiot."

Not deigning to respond, Naruto walked out of the bar. He was in desperate need of some fresh air. His face still felt flushed and the parts of his body Sasuke had touched were burning. He shook his head; he needed to catch a cab and leave.

"Loser." Uh oh.

"What do you want, bastard?"

"You left."

Naruto snorted. "And you call me an idiot."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I  _said_  I was leaving. God you're such a tight ass."

"At least I'm not the loser who struck out tonight."

Naruto saw red. Before he knew it, he had the bastard's shirt balled in his left fist while his right was pulled back, ready to be released. Just as he was about to punch the dick right in his smug face, something grabbed his arm. He looked around to see who the hell was stopping him from exacting revenge. It was the bouncer. Oh.

"Not in front of the bar. Take it down there if you want to fight." He nodded toward a nearby alley. Naruto shrugged him off irritatingly and dropped Sasuke. Then without a word, he stalked toward the alley. When he didn't hear footsteps behind him he turned.

"You coming?"

The bastard didn't respond. Instead he just followed. About damn time too. Naruto was sick of letting him get away with everything just because Sakura was into him. That was all over now; he could let loose. And what better location than a dark abandoned alley behind a bar? Seemed fitting.

He turned back to the Uchiha, fists bared. They were far enough into the area that there were no street lights. Nobody would be able to see them. Perfect. Without waiting for an invitation, the blond charged and punched Sasuke. His fist made a satisfying connection with the other's stomach before he felt a returned blow somewhere by his ribs. Dammit, he'd forgotten Sasuke could hit. Hard.

The next punch knocked the wind from him, but he was still able to get a solid hit to the other's right cheek. He grinned in satisfaction, but it was immediately wiped from his face when he was thrown into the nearby brick wall. The bastard pinned his arms by his head. Naruto struggled for a moment, before realizing the futility of his actions. So instead he settled on glaring.

"Go ahead. Hit me again." He taunted.

Sasuke didn't respond.

"I mean it's not as if you didn't get the girl in the end."

Still nothing.

Naruto laughed bitterly. "And then you dumped her. What was that about? Just to prove to me you could always win out in the end?"

The bastard didn't say anything. He just let the blond go and moved away from the wall. Naruto used the opportunity to wipe the area under his nose with his sleeve. He checked it. No blood.

"You know you didn't have to be a dick about it. I always knew Sakura was into you. Hell, everyone knew."

"Shut up." Ah, so he  _could_  talk still. Apparently he didn't like hearing about his recent fuck up. Good.

"What were you even dating her for in the first place? It was obvious you were never really as into her as she was into you."

"I said shut up."

But Uzumakis didn't shut up. They kept talking until they were done.

"Was it really just some kind of sick competition between us? You knew I liked her so you decided to take her?"

"SHUT UP!" Wow. The Uchiha had broken composure. That was a rare occurrence.

"Or was it just to hide the fact you're ga–"

Naruto was not prepared for the next attack, mostly because this one was directed toward the one part of his body he never expected the Uchiha to attack. His eyes went wide as Sasuke's lips slammed into his own. He found himself shoved against the wall once again, only this time he didn't struggle; he was too shocked.

Sasuke's lips were working desperately against his own, and almost without thinking Naruto opened his mouth. He wasn't entirely sure what he'd intended to do or say, but whatever it was, was squashed by the feeling of the other man's tongue in his mouth. Not one to be easily dominated at anything, Naruto fought back with his. His eyes closed automatically, and he didn't notice his arms wrap around the Uchiha. He couldn't even feel the raven hair in his hands as he fisted it.

All he noticed was the new taste in his mouth. Sasuke tasted like a combination of alcohol, spices and something else Naruto couldn't quite place. But God, was it heavenly. A thigh forced its way between Naruto's legs causing him to bite down on Sasuke's tongue. Holy shit, he was aroused. And it was only made worse by the moan released from the other's mouth. He didn't want it to stop, he didn't –! But the need for air broke them apart.

They stood there panting for a moment, gazing at each other. Sasuke's eyes were half lidded in a way that was – Naruto had to admit it – damn sexy. The blond wouldn't be surprised if his hair were sticking out in an interesting way like the Uchiha's now was. Far from looking ridiculous, though, Naruto found it…attractive.

What the hell?

The thought brought him out of his reverie, and he shoved Sasuke away suddenly. What was he thinking? He wasn't  _gay_. No way! He was Uzumaki Naruto, lady-killer extraordinaire! And hot pieces of ass like him did not go for dark haired bastards. Especially if they were dudes.

So lost in his own thoughts was the blond, that he didn't notice the strange look Sasuke now wore. When he finally saw it, he snapped again.

"What?" He snarled.

"Nothing." The guy  _turned away_. Arrogant bastard.

"Fine," Naruto agreed uncharacteristically. Nothing happened. That was right. He was straight and one drunken – he was drunk dammit! – make-out session with his rival was  _not_  going to change that. He pushed past the Uchiha and walked away toward the street where cabs were hopefully waiting to pick up people. It was bound to be close to last call by now.

To his surprise, Sasuke was next to him when they emerged. He glanced sideways at the guy and couldn't help but feel smug over the bruise that was obviously forming on the Uchiha's cheek. He knew he would be in about the same shape the next day, but he didn't care at the moment. Plus, fight scars were dashing – though Ino argued passionately against facial bruising's.

"See something you like?" The bastard had the nerve to sound bored when he said that.

"No," Naruto huffed childishly. He completed the look by crossing his arms and looking decidedly away from Sasuke.

A cab rolled up. Finally. He walked toward it, somewhat surprised he wasn't followed. He stopped just before getting in the taxi, not sure if he should offer the guy a ride home or what…

"I'll be fine." The Uchiha responded, as if reading his mind.

"What?"

"Besides, we live on opposite sides of town from here." Another taxi rolled up and Sasuke walked toward it, waving goodbye before getting in.

"In or out buddy. I've got other good paying customers I could be driving around." The driver broke him from his reverie.

"Yeah, yeah. Chill." He got in the car, gave the guy directions to his apartment and sat back in his seat, gazing out the window into the night.

The feeling of Sasuke's lips on his was still there. He poked them, as if to check that only his lips were attached to his face. Damn bastard. Who attacks someone like that? He sighed and leaned his forehead against his reflection in the mirror. He didn't even like guys. Why was he still hung up on this?

"Buddy, if you're gonna puke, I'm going to charge extra."

"I'll be fine," he muttered irritably in response.

After all, he wasn't even drunk.


	2. Rain is Not Romantic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! I kept forgetting to post it.

            Rain sucked.  That’s what Naruto decided when class ended.  It wasn’t all romantic the way they made it seem in the movies.  No.  It was cold, and it was wet.

            He’d decided – without checking the weather report first of course – to ride his motorcycle to school that day.  He’d had his eyes set on an orange Ninja 100 ABS for a while, and the money he made over the summer at Ichiraku Ramen finally made it his.  He made a conscious effort to show it off as often as possible.  Not that it mattered at the moment.

            There were two things his guardian Jiraiya had told him before he left for college.  1) Always go for girls with the biggest boobs, and 2) never ride a motorcycle in a thunderstorm.  He hadn’t had much luck on the first one, but he always obeyed the second rule.  He never even rode his old bike in bad weather.

            But today he was left with a choice: risk the rain, or walk home and get soaked.  Neither option was appealing.  On the one hand, he could accidentally crash and hurt himself.  Or worse; he could damage the Ninja.  Then again, he could end up having to walk the five or whatever miles home, get sick, and have to miss class or basketball practice.

            He was seriously considering just risking it on the bike when a small Civic came skidding by, hydroplaning in the water.  The driver managed to correct themselves before sliding into the church across the street, but they still couldn’t stop at the stop sign.  Luckily for them, the only one there to witness this was Naruto.  That made up his mind.

            With a grumble of irritation, he stepped out of the building and started walking.  Oh, and of course he forgot to pack an umbrella.  So much for it being 81 and sunny earlier.  At least he had his riding jacket, so he wasn’t cold.  Yet.  This was going to be a long walk.

            He got barely a mile from campus before he determined he would never be dry again.  It was as if the rain drops were seeping into him; past his skin, straight into the bone.  The leather jacket he wore when riding _really_ wasn’t helping either.  Sure, between it and his backpack – oh god his notebooks were bound to be soaked – his upper body stayed mostly dry.  Instead, all the water dripped off onto his jeans, causing them to stick to him in places they really shouldn’t.

            To make it worse, a black BMW chose that time to speed past him on the street, splashing water into his face.  The red brake lights flashed on, and it pulled over at the next bus stop.  Good.  At least the guy figured out he’d done something wrong.  Maybe he was going to apologize.

            Whoever it was, Naruto was still gonna kick his ass.

            “Oh god no,” he groaned when he drew level to the car.

            The window was rolled down.  “Get in, idiot.”

            “I’d rather not.”

            Sasuke rolled his eyes, before reaching over and pushing the door open.  “You’re soaked.”

            “Yeah, so a bit more won’t make any difference.”

            “You have four miles till you’re home.  Don’t be stupid.”

            He opened his mouth to ask Sasuke why he knew where he lived, then remembered the whole basketball team had each other’s contact info and snapped it shut.  Instead, he gave up and got in the car.

            His jeans squeaked against the clean, dry leather of the other’s car.  Of course it still smelled new.  Only the bastard would be able to afford a brand new car.

            It wasn’t until he’d slammed the door and Sasuke sped off that he realized they hadn’t been alone since That Night over three months ago.  In fact, he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the Uchiha since then.  It was probably good they ran into each other now; basketball training started soon, and they couldn’t afford to mess up the rest of the team with their issues.

            Despite those thoughts, an uncomfortable silence hung between them that Naruto made no effort to dispel.

            The quiet wasn’t broken until Sasuke came to a sudden stop.  Naruto looked up startled, only to discover they were parked directly in front of his apartment building.

            “This is it, right?”  The raven asked when Naruto made no move to get out.

            “Yeah,” he mumbled in response.

            This wasn’t good.  They needed to talk or somehow solve this problem between them.  But how…?

            “Do you wanna come up –?“

            “I’ll just be going –“

            They spoke at the same time.

            “Oh.”  Naruto felt awkward.  “Okay.  I’ll see you around then.”

            His hand was on the door handle when he felt a sharp pressure on his left bicep.  He turned and saw Sasuke’s hand.  His eyes travelled upward, only to see the raven staring at him intently.  Something flashed across the other’s face, and Sasuke pulled.  Naruto barely had time to close his eyes before their lips connected.

            Just like the first time, the raven was kissing him frantically, an almost desperate feeling behind it.  For reasons unknown to him, Naruto found himself willingly deepening the kiss, opening his mouth up to the prying tongue against his lips.  His left arm wound its way around the back of Sasuke’s neck, while his right hand tightly squeezed the other’s thigh.

            They came up for air momentarily, but while Naruto was panting to catch his breath, Sasuke had already moved on to the blond’s neck.  The raven bit down on a sensitive piece of skin just below his collarbone, causing Naruto to gasp.  Wanting to feel those lips against his, he pulled Sasuke back up, tangled his hands in his hair, and kissed him again.

            It was the angle that was making it difficult, Naruto realized hazily.  He shifted his weight, trying to move his body into Sasuke’s seat.  But as he was halfway there, the other bit down on his lower lip.  Naruto lost control of himself for a moment and wound up falling against the wheel.

            HONK!

            They broke apart immediately.  Naruto stared at horror at Sasuke, the realization of what they’d just been doing crashing down on him.

            “I…uh…”  Sasuke was giving him that same strange look he’d worn the first time.  “I gotta go!”  He ripped the door open and flew out of it, barely grabbing his backpack in the process.

            “Naruto?”  But he was already out of the car.

            “Bye!”  He yelled, slamming the door behind him and running into the building without looking back.

            He threw the door closed behind him, not wanting to see if the Uchiha was still sitting there or not.  _What the hell?_   He stood, forehead resting against the wall, dripping water on the floor, for a while.  It wasn’t until he heard someone walk out of an apartment down the hall that he finally moved.

            Naruto ended up dragging his feet up three flights of stairs to his own apartment.  Without really thinking, he unlocked the door, walked inside, and locked it again before collapsing on his couch.  He was still completely soaked, but he didn’t really feel it anymore.

            There was something very wrong with him. 

If he had been worried about how basketball training was going to go before, he was terrified now.  What if he couldn’t look at Sasuke without thinking about it?  What if they couldn’t play together because of that?  _Oh god_ , Naruto thought, covering his mouth.  _What if he tells someone?_

            His mind was in complete disarray, and the worst part was the bastard didn’t even know he was the cause.  _Wait._   Naruto sat straight up.  _Maybe he_ does _know what he’s doing.  Maybe he’s just trying to mess with me._   But why would he do that?  The blond racked his brains.

            Then it came to him.  _Basketball._   Of course.  Bastard didn’t want to have to share co-captain-ship with him anymore.  He was trying to throw Naruto off his game.  He growled and clenched his fists.

            Selfish asshole.  Sure, he was a bit of a ball-hog and not very good at sharing in general, but Naruto honestly never expected this from him.

            He stomped angrily to the bathroom, tearing off his shirt as he went.  He needed to shower.  He turned the water to steaming, removing the rest of his clothes as well, before stepping in.

            But as the hot water poured over him, bringing feeling back into his limbs, he admitted to himself that he didn’t _mind_ the kiss itself.  In fact, he decided, he could almost say he liked it.  But wait.  Did that mean he…liked men?

            He summoned an image of Sakura.  It still hurt to think about her.  No matter what he’d told her That Night, he still had feelings for her; they didn’t just go away.  Because of it, he’d been avoiding her too.  Something Ino mentioned the pink-haired girl had noticed.

            So if he still had feelings for Sakura, then he wasn’t gay at least.  Maybe he just wanted to feel wanted.  Not that Sasuke wanted him or anything, but if he closed his eyes when kissing the raven it almost felt like he did.

            That must be it, Naruto decided, turning off the shower.  He was still a little broken up about Sakura’s rejection, so he’d settle for ‘affection’ of any kind.  He could handle that as a conclusion.

            Out of habit, Naruto checked his phone after he’d toweled off and put on pants.  Ino had texted him, offering a ride.  It was really a shame she hadn’t done that _before_ he left campus.  Then he could’ve avoided the whole situation.

            He ended up texting her back saying he’d gotten home – though he was intentionally vague about how – and tossed his phone to the side.  Assuming his notebooks weren’t completely destroyed, he had homework to do before bed.  There was less than a week before basketball practices started, and the further ahead in his classes he was before then, the better.  The whole Sasuke fiasco could wait. 


	3. Poor Life Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Naruto thinks too much and drinks too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay. Hope you enjoy!

            If Naruto could only use one word to describe his week, he would call it shitty.  He had a test on Monday he wasn’t anywhere near prepared for, he forgot to finish his homework that was due Tuesday, and – rather than improving his week – basketball practice started on Wednesday.  He’d taken to avoiding Sasuke after the second fiasco, a feat that didn’t mean shit once he got to the court that day.

            He tried to convince himself that he was a mature adult.  He really did.  But when he got to practice, changed and ready to go, he felt something akin to panic bloom in his chest.  There the raven was, standing across the room talking to Neji as if nothing had happened – not even looking at Naruto, mind you – and Naruto’s stomach already felt like it was going to fall out of his butt.  He couldn’t do this.  He could _not_ do this…

            Luckily for him, the first week – well, half week – really just involved conditioning and drills, so he was able to avoid Sasuke for the most part.  Naruto kept telling himself he’d go talk to the raven after practice, but by the end of the week he still hadn’t.

            It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon’s training session that the coach finally realized something was up.  They were holding their first practice scrimmage as a team, and Naruto was nowhere near his usual condition.

            “Uzumaki!”  The coach stopped them after the fifth missed layup.  “What the fuck is wrong with you?  Uchiha was wide open, but you chose to hog the ball!”

            The blond decided to stare at the floor rather than meeting any of his teammates’ eyes.  “I thought I could take the shot easier.”

            “Bullshit!  You _know_ your strength is with the three pointers.  You didn’t stand a chance.  He, on the other hand, was set up perfectly.”

            “I didn’t see that.”

            “Did you miss the other four times Uchiha had been free as well?”

            Naruto decided the best course of action was to avoid answering the question altogether.  The coach let out an exasperated sigh.  “That’s it, Uzumaki.  Out.”

            “What?”  Had he heard wrong, or…?

            “You heard me.  Out.  You’re dismissed for today.  Come back when you’ve screwed your head back on.”

            Now that was pretty unfair, in Naruto’s opinion.  He hadn’t even gotten the chance to argue his case.  He didn’t fight the verdict though, because 1) his head really wasn’t screwed in correctly at the moment and 2) the coach had already walked away and demanded practice continue.

            So rather than arguing, he ended up showering and driving over to Ino’s place in a bit of a rage.  For once, she wasn’t hanging out with Chouji, and Naruto had her undivided attention.

            “I mean who does he think he is?  I’m _captain_.  He can’t just send me home!”

            “Co-captain,” Ino chided, working at pulling a cork out of the wine bottle.  “And he’s just thinking about the team, I’m sure.”

            He was pacing the room, tearing at his hair.  “I mean _yeah_ , I didn’t have the greatest practice today.  But it’s the beginning of the season!  We can’t be perfect!”

            She managed to pull out the cork and had now poured two glasses for them.  Naruto grabbed his as Ino drank from hers.  She licked her lips appreciatively before responding.  “He probably just expects more from you now that you’re a leader.”

            “But it’s the first week…”

            This continued on for a while, the bottle getting lighter and lighter as time went by.  Soon, Ino had grabbed her homework and was doing it on the couch while Naruto continued to whine about the unfairness of it all.  About five glasses in, he was feeling a little light-headed but pulled out his homework anyway.

            “…I can’t be around that asshole…”  He mumbled, frowning at the paper in front of him.

            “Hmm?  Who?  Your coach?”  Ino questioned, turning the page of her textbook.  She’d stopped after three glasses, feeling pleasantly tipsy but not enough to warrant a headache the next day.  It was the strategy Naruto should’ve adopted, but it was too late now.

            “No.”  He tapped his book on his homework, glare intensifying.  “Sasuke.”

            “Sasuke?  You haven’t talked about him in months.  What’s he got to do with this?”

            “Everything.”  The problem wasn’t making any sense.  Maybe five glasses of wine _was_ too much.  What was the ratio of wine to beer again?

            “What did he do this time?”  She was still only half paying attention.

            He reread the question again.  Stupid question.  “It’s cuz he kissed me that one time behind the Akatsuki.”  She stopped reading.  “Hey, Ino, how do I do this problem?”

            “You can’t just change the subject.  What do you mean he _kissed_ you behind the Akatsuki?  The last time we were there was right after he and Sakura broke up.”

            “Well that was only the first time.  Then we made out in his car when he drove me home a couple weeks ago…”

            “What?!”  The book was now on the floor.

            “I think it’s because he wants to confuse me so I suck at basketball and he gets to be captain all alone.”  He forgot about his homework.  “It’s working.”

            “Naruto…”

            “Is it wrong if I liked it?”  He felt tears tingling at the corner of his eyes.

            Ino was next to him in a heartbeat.  “Oh, honey, no.  Of course it’s not wrong.”

            The blond nodded, trying to keep from crying.  “Can you take me home?  I don’t feel so hot.”

            “Um sure…Let me just call Chouji.  I don’t really think I should drive…”

            Naruto’s head was pounding when he woke up the next morning.  He hadn’t even sat up yet, and he already knew it was gonna be bad.  But he really needed to get to class; they had a test coming up this week.  He braced himself for the worst and sat up.  Bad idea.

            He barely made it to the bathroom before he was reduced to a sweating, quivering mess on the floor.  After he’d completely emptied his stomach of everything he’d eaten in the last 24 hours – some foods he would never eat again – he passed out on his bed.  Classes be damned.

            He slept through most of the day before he managed to drag himself out of bed and eat something without it coming back up.  And even though he was feeling better, and less like he was about to die, he still didn’t feel like facing both Sasuke and his coach at practice that night, so he just…skipped.  Instead, he turned on the tv and zoned out in front of it, regretting every decision he’d made in the past week.

            That is, until someone knocked on his door.  Frowning, Naruto checked the clock: 9 pm.  Who would be here at 9 pm?  Only one way to find out.

            He opened the door only to get a backpack shoved in his face.  His own backpack.  Huh.  That was interesting.

            “Ino stopped by practice and wanted me to bring this for you.”

            He knew that voice.  A strong desire to drink again overwhelmed him for a moment.

            “Well?  Are you gonna let me in or what?”

            He should’ve slammed the door.  Instead, he found himself stepping back.  The intruder walked inside, closing the door behind him.

            Naruto walked into his main living area, setting his backpack down, before turning to confront the person now inside his house.  But when they were face-to-face, words failed him, and so the blond ended up standing there staring and looking like an idiot.  Practice can’t have ended too long ago, and yet Sasuke looked completely clean and dry, wearing jeans and a white button up over his usual black tee-shirt.

            “Is there a reason you decided to skip out on practice today, loser?”

            The familiar name stirred him, and Naruto rose to the bait.  “Whatever, bastard.  As if my personal life is any business of yours.”

            Sasuke scoffed.  “It is when it interferes with the team.”

            The blond crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.  “He said he didn’t want me back until I got my shit figured out.”

            “Oh?  And you’re staying away until he begs you to come back?  Is that it?”

            Naruto’s left eye twitched.  “No.  Once again, my life is not your business.”

            “Once again, it is when it affects the team.”  The raven took a predatory step forward, to which Naruto responded by taking a step back.  When he realized what he’d been forced to do, he snapped.

            “Fine!  You want to know so bad?  It’s your fault!  Everything is entirely your fault.”

            The bastard had the nerve to look shocked at that.  “My fault?”

            Finally, Naruto had a reason to sneer.  “Don’t act innocent.  You know perfectly well what I’m talking about.  Your little plot to take over the team and become the sole captain.”

            Sasuke sighed.  “Naruto, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.  I don’t want to ‘take over’ or other such nonsense.”

            “Bullshit.  Why else would you kiss me?”

            Sasuke’s eyes widened.  “What did you say?”

            Naruto met the other’s gaze.  “I said you’d have no other reason to kiss me.  Now stop playing stupid and leave my apartment.”

            The raven took a step forward.  “I’m not the stupid one here.”  Naruto tried to step back, but ran into the kitchen counter instead.  Shit.

            “You really think I just kissed you as some fucked up power play?”  Sasuke continued.

            “Uh…”  The raven was really too close now.  Naruto was having a hard time thinking straight.

            “Idiot.”  Sasuke closed the distance, and for the third time Naruto found himself being kissed by his long-time rival.

            He tried to tell himself he didn’t like it.  He attempted to convince himself that he wasn’t enjoying the feeling of the raven’s lips on his.  Those thoughts flew out the window the minute Sasuke’s tongue ran along his lower lip.  New thoughts took their place going something along the line of ‘yes more’, and the blond opened his mouth, inviting the other in.

            Naruto fought against Sasuke's tongue, not wanting the other to be in control of the kiss once again.  Sasuke got the upper hand, however, the minute his actual hand slip under Naruto’s shirt.  The blond gasped, instantly losing the fight and giving in to the new sensations.

            Sasuke was cold, but he left a trail of fire where he touched the blond’s skin.  Naruto shivered as the raven’s hand moved higher on his body, finally finding purchase on his nipple.  He felt himself instantly harden at the sensation and had enough sense to break the kiss.

            “S-Sasuke…What…?”  But he never had a chance to finish the sentence, because the next thing he knew the raven _pinched_ and Naruto had never felt anything quite like that before.  He moaned and rocked his hips, ramming his erection into Sasuke’s leg.

            The raven’s tongue flicked just below his ear in response.  “Do you really think I would do all this as some power play?”  Sasuke’s voice was rough, lower than normal.  Naruto rocked his hips forward again.  “Hmm?”  The raven emphasized, squeezing his nipple harder.

            “Ungh!  Yes!”  He barely remembered the question.  All the sudden, the warmth was completely moved from around his body.  He unconsciously followed it, but a hand pushing back on his shoulder stopped him from moving any further.  His eyes focused again, only to see Sasuke standing a full body width away from him, an unreadable expression etched on his face.

            “You really think so low of me?”

            The blond’s mind struggled to catch up.  “Yes?”

            “Naruto.”

            “I mean yes.  Yes, I do.”

            If the blond didn’t know any better, he would’ve said Sasuke looked disappointed.  The hand left his shoulder.  “Well if that’s really what you think.”  The raven turned and walked to the door, Naruto simply staring after him.  Sasuke didn’t stop until his hand was on the doorknob.

            “Come back to practice at least.  The team needs you.”

            Naruto nodded dumbly behind his back.  Without another word, Sasuke left, the door swinging shut behind him.

            Unblinkingly, the blond wandered to his cupboard, grabbing himself a glass and pouring water into it.  He drank the entire thing before slamming it down on the counter, staring at the door.

            _What have I done?_


	4. Complete Role Reversal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The most original chapter name ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno what is up with this formatting. Sometimes AO3 decides to indent everything and sometimes it decides to indent nothing. (Sometimes in between). I fixed this in my later works, but copy-pasting from my old documents still has this problem. Anyway, sorry for the late update. Not too many edits needed to be made.

Naruto returned to practice two days later after Ino shouted at him to stop moping around her apartment.  Luck was on his side when he arrived and discovered Sasuke had an evening exam and wasn't showing up that day.  It was the best practice he'd had all season – which wasn't saying much really – and by the end the coach welcomed him back with almost a smile. 

It was all he needed to help boost his confidence, and he finally had a good outlook on this semester. 

That all changed when Sasuke came back the next day. 

The moment the raven walked in and saw Naruto, the blond could tell something was up.  His confidence wasn't shattered, however, until he tried saying hello and was given the cold shoulder.  Well fine.  If he wanted to be a dick then two could play at that game. 

All practice, Naruto passed the ball to Sasuke with more force than necessary.  The first few times, he noticed the other's eyes widen slightly.  Then he seemed to get the hint.  The next thing he knew, he and Sasuke were running up and down the court chucking the ball into each other's chest, trying to get the other person to stumble first.  The rest of the team involved in the scrimmage were left in the dust. 

In retrospect, Naruto had no idea why the coach waited so long to stop them, but he wasn't surprised when the whistle finally blew and they were called over. 

"I don't know what the fuck is going on between you, but it stops.  Now.”  The coach turned to Sasuke.  "I expect something like this from Uzumaki, but you?  Uchiha, you know better than this!"

He was livid, and he had every right to be.  Naruto looked around the court at everyone else, only to see them all staring at him and Sasuke in concern.  Damn.  He'd been so mad at the bastard for being such a dick he'd completely forgotten why he was here in the first place; to practice with the team.  The _whole_ team. 

So he really shouldn't have been surprised by what the coach said next. 

"Alright.  Practice is over.  Everyone go home.”  Naruto turned to leave, impressed by his luck.  "Not you Uzumaki.”  Ah shit.  Not so lucky after all.  "You and Uchiha stay."

He couldn't help himself.  "Why?"

"You're gonna have a little one-on-one game.  Sort yourselves out.  In my time we were able to solve a lot of problems by beating the ever loving shit out of each other.  Unfortunately, today I can't encourage such behavior.”  He stared into the distance wistfully before returning to the present.  "But what I can do is tell you two to 'play it out' without anyone else here.  But let me tell you this," his eyes narrowed dangerously, "if you both show up tomorrow with your heads still buried firmly up your respective asses, I will not hesitate to find new captains.  Is that clear?"

Naruto nodded dumbly. 

"Good.  Try not to kill each other then.”  Without another word he walked away, leaving Naruto to stare at his back.

For a split second, the blond had the strongest urge to book it in the other direction.  A constant thumping sound stopped him.  He glanced toward the court, only to see Sasuke standing there dribbling, staring hard at the scoreboard.  Reluctantly, he walked over to join him. 

When he was level with the raven, Sasuke looked right up into his eyes.  They stared at each other for a split second before the raven turned and sprinted toward the left hoop, Naruto hot on his heels. 

It never occurred to him that they might want to play fair, so instead of going for the ball, he shoved Sasuke with all his strength, causing the Uchiha to stumble.  In the few seconds that the raven no longer had control over the ball, Naruto stole it from him, spun on his heel, and sprinted the other direction. 

Sasuke was behind him in a moment.  He apparently caught on to the whole not playing fair thing, because Naruto barely saw the foot in front of him before he was sprawled out on the ground.  Sasuke dribbled in the other direction while the blond growled and stood up.  So the Uchiha wanted to up the stakes huh?  He could do that.  No problem. 

He raced after the other, and before Sasuke could do anything, the blond raised his fist and punched the raven square in the jaw.  The ball rolled away from them. 

They stared at each other for a beat before Naruto broke his gaze and ran after the ball.  He'd barely had it before a flying foot hit his hip and his leg buckled under him.  Sasuke ran the other way, bouncing the ball as he went. 

This went on until they tired out almost 20 minutes later.  Naruto had the ball again, and Sasuke seemed to have given up.  They both halted just at the three-point line.  The look on the raven's face almost said 'shoot, I dare you'.  But Naruto didn't.  Instead he threw the ball as hard as he could at the basket, where it slammed into the backboard and came flying off, bouncing between them down the court.  The game was over.  No one scored. 

He stomped toward the locker room, not really caring if the Uchiha followed or not.  He managed to make it to his locker and pull off his shirt before the silence finally got to him.  Snarling, he spun around to where Sasuke had just opened his own locker, flipped the raven around, grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the lockers. 

"Can I help you, Uzumaki?”  The bastard had the gall to sound bored even when cornered – literally – against a wall. 

"What the fuck is your problem?"

An Uchiha eyebrow raised itself in a perfect look of derision.  "My problem?"

"Yeah your problem.  You've been a dick all day!"

"I'm not the one who resorted to childish ploys, idiot."

God the bastard could be frustrating.  "Well you didn't have to respond!”  He was shaking in anger now.

"My apologies.”  He was sneering now, no longer bothering to look bored by the whole thing. 

Well if he was going to be an asshole then he would too.  There's no way Naruto would let himself lose.  "So what now?  Gonna kiss me?  There's no one around."

Sasuke's face went blank, and he didn't respond.  So Naruto took it a step further. 

He leaned forward, lips next to Sasuke's ear before whispering.  "I know you want to.”  He let one of his hands release its grip on the raven's collar, sliding it down his chest in what he hoped was a seductive manner.  "What's wrong, Sasuke?  Not as much fun when I initiate it?  You'd rather confuse me instead of it being the other way around?"

"No.”  Finally.  A response.

"So it does speak.  Fascinating.  What do you mean no?"

"I mean no.  I'm not going to kiss you.”  Naruto drew back without releasing the raven's collar. 

"I'm not like you, Naruto.  I don't kiss people if I don’t want to."

The blond wasn’t sure if he was more offended by the implication that he went around kissing people like some kind of lip whore, or the idea that Sasuke didn’t want to kiss him.  Either way, he lost the cocky edge in his voice.  “What do you mean?”

“What I said.”  No further explanation.  Of course not.  This was Sasuke, after all.

For some reason, Naruto was indignant.  He felt as though he had to defend his honor somehow.  “It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss you!  It’s just that…”

The raven raised his eyebrow as if to say ‘just what, imbecile?’  And he would say imbecile too.  For a moment, Naruto was conflicted as to how exactly to get his point across.

“Fuck it,” he decided, pulling Sasuke toward him via the collar and slamming their lips together.

This time – when Naruto _intentionally_ deepened the kiss – Sasuke didn’t immediately respond.  So the blond did what any person was, and bit down on the raven’s lower lip.  That worked.  The raven let out a slight gasp, opening his mouth and allowing Naruto’s tongue to plunge into it.

It wasn’t until Sasuke responded with his own that Naruto allowed himself to explore the rest of the raven’s body.  He could still feel the parts of his skin where Sasuke had touched last time they’d been together like this, and it was driving him mad.  He just wanted to return the favor.  His free hand slid the remainder of its way down Sasuke’s chest, finding the bottom of the shirt and slipping under it.  The Uchiha’s body was still sweaty from working out, but rather than grossing Naruto out, it turned him on more.

He explored his way up the raven’s stomach to his chest until he found what he was looking for.  Recalling how he felt when Sasuke did it to him, he ghosted his finger over the other’s nipple.  It hardened, and Sasuke bit down on Naruto’s tongue.  The blond moaned unintentionally, pinching the pink skin in response.

He’d forgotten that Sasuke had both hands free, so while he was continuing his mission to torture the raven, it gave the other time to retaliate.  One of Sasuke’s hands feathered its way across Naruto’s chest, never staying in one place for long enough.  The blond lost track of the other hand until something grabbed the crotch of his shorts.  He gasped and broke the kiss, leaning his head on the raven’s shoulder.

Naruto could practically _feel_ the raven smirking when he started rubbing.  “T-tease,” the blond panted against the tee-shirt.

“Hush, idiot.  We’re in a locker room.”  How the Uchiha could sound so calm at a moment like this was a mystery.  So Naruto bit down on the skin below him.  There was a sharp intake of breath from near his left ear, and the rubbing against his erection paused before increasing its speed.  Naruto moaned again, rocking his hips into the hand.  He was so hard it hurt, but he couldn’t tell if Sasuke was even affected.

He turned his head and started sucking on the raven’s neck, earning what sounded like a gasp.  The hand that had been resting on the other’s chest – after abandoning its own attempt at teasing – moved down to his shorts.  Oh yeah, Sasuke was definitely affected too.  He clumsily rubbed his hand against the other’s erection in an attempt to reciprocate.  Apparently it worked, because the typically composed Uchiha let out a soft moan of appreciation.  The blond moved his hand faster wanting to hear that sound again.  They were both panting by now, Naruto having given up on doing anything but breathe and rub.  It would be embarrassing to cum from just this, but god it felt good.

“Naruto?”  A soft female voice spoke from somewhere near the entrance.  “Naruto are you there?”  Shit.  They both stopped.  When had she opened the door?  He hadn’t even heard it…

“Ye – uh – Yeah!  Yeah I’m here!”  His voice sounded off.  Maybe she didn’t notice.

“It’s me, it’s Sakura.  You promised we’d go to dinner after practice remember?”  Of course.  How could he have forgotten?  She’d noticed how he’d been avoiding her and wanted to grab dinner so they could talk.  He should’ve remembered.  Why hadn’t he remembered?

“Right, yeah.  I’ll be out soon, ok?  Practice went long, so I still need to shower.  K?”

“Yeah, ok.  I’ll just wait outside.”  The door slammed shut.

He looked back at Sasuke, whose face swiftly transformed from hurt to angry to blank, before pushing himself off.  He was still uncomfortably hard.  A cold shower it was then.  Problem was, he didn’t really know what to say.  He’d been the one to initiate the whole thing this time; he couldn’t just run away like before.

“What are you waiting for?  Go shower so you can meet with your girlfriend.”  Sasuke had already turned back to his locker, pulling it open again with unnecessary force.

A wave of irritation flooded through Naruto.  “She’s not my girlfriend, _Sasuke_ , you made sure of that.”

“Excuse me?”  The raven’s back stiffened.

“Nothing.”  Not knowing what else to say, the blond grabbed his towel and soap before storming to the showers.

He set the temperature to ‘hell freezing over’ before shedding his shorts and stepping in.  The cold water was an instant relief to his problem, so he turned it to a more reasonable temperature as soon as he was sure it wouldn’t return.  But the bigger problem never went away; he was still angry.

Naruto wasn’t sure who he was angrier at: himself or Sasuke.  Sasuke had been the one to initiate the first time, so it was understandable why he was so angry, but he had just initiated something of his own.  And the fact it had gone so much further than kissing angered him even more.  If Sasuke really were just screwing with him – something Naruto wasn’t so sure of anymore – then he shouldn’t have risen to the bait.  On the other hand, there was a chance Sasuke felt something toward him, in which case he shouldn’t lead him on.  Not only was it rude and hurtful, it was also bad for the team.  He banged his head against the wall twice before letting it rest there, the lukewarm water running down his back.

He definitely liked it; that much was no longer in question.  The real question was if he liked it just because it was physical attention – which he was starved for since he and his last girlfriend had broken up – or if he were gay.  The second thought was the one that scared him.  His ultimate goal had been to go to college, study something worthwhile but easy, and then get recruited into the NBA.  Even if he had to go with plan B (get a kick ass job), being gay was _not_ looked well upon by society as yet.  Naturally, he tried to see every way around that being the case.

He’d already decided the other day that he still had feelings for Sakura, which was why he had been avoiding her in the first place.  That meant he was not gay at the very least.  So maybe he was bisexual or something?  That would explain why he had been so into…whatever it was they were doing just earlier.  But no, he couldn’t be.  Trying to imagine doing the same thing with Kiba or Neji or someone was just plain weird.  Which lead to another question: what made Sasuke so special?

He turned the water off.  This was so confusing.  He kept going around and around in the same circle, never getting anywhere or figuring anything out.  Hopeless.

Naruto grabbed his towel and dried his hair, before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out of the shower.  Regardless, he really needed to forget about this whole ‘ignore it and it’ll go away’ idea, because clearly that wasn’t working.  He reached his locker and took a deep breath before turning to where Sasuke was just putting on his typical black tee-shirt.  Wow, the guy showered fast.  Naruto hadn’t even heard him.

“Sasuke?”

No answer.

“Sasuke.”

“Look I know you can hear me.”

“ _What_.”  Well if that didn’t spell irritation, then he wasn’t sure did.

“Are you free sometime this week?”

“Idiot.  Today is Thursday.  The week is almost over.”

“Ok, next week then.”

“Why?”

“To talk.”

Sasuke still hadn’t turned around, and it was making Naruto nervous.  “About what?”

“You know what.  Ugh.”  He wanted to pull his hair in frustration.  This was impossible.  “We can’t keep doing this Sasuke.  We can’t keep…taking out our frustrations on each other like this.  It’s killing the team.  We need to talk about it and figure it out before this thing – whatever it is – fucks us both up and neither of us get to be captains anymore.”  It all came out in a rush.

The raven still just stood there unmoving.  “Tuesday,” he said finally.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m free Tuesday after practice.”

Relief washed over him.  “Ok good.  Wait.  I thought practice was cancelled?”

Sasuke snorted.  “You don’t pay attention, do you?”

“No…”

The raven hoisted his bag over his shoulder, slamming his locker shut in the process.  “A word of advice.”  He turned and looked straight into Naruto’s eyes.  “Don’t keep Sakura waiting; it makes her mad.”  Then he turned and stalked off, leaving Naruto staring in his wake.

A moment later the meaning behind the raven’s words hit him, and the blond moved about in a frenzy trying to get dressed before Sakura asked him what took so long.


	5. Just Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and Sasuke "talk".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate the formatting sometimes. I look forward to your comments though! :)

            Sasuke was right about Sakura; she hated waiting for other people.  Naruto was used to the girls making him wait – especially Ino, that girl took forever – but he figured he’d already been late before she even said anything.  She’d acted irritated while he apologized nonstop, before punching him over the head and saying it was fine.

            But dinner was still awkward.  They made small talk for a bit, talking about how school was going (terribly), how the football team was performing (dismally), and what they did over the summer (nothing of note apparently).  And after all the safe topics were covered they fell silent, still unable to look at each other.  If only the food would get there faster; then Naruto would have something to do aside from drawing on the table with his straw.

            “I know you’ve been avoiding me, Naruto.” 

             When he looked up, Sakura was staring straight at him.  He thought about lying for a moment, then decided otherwise.  “Yeah.”

            “Ino said you were having a hard time.”  She would.

             Naruto sighed.  He wasn’t sure what he was expecting; he should’ve known the conversation would eventually circle back to That Night.  “Look I don’t know what Ino told you, but it’s not…I just…”  He drew his hand through his spikes.  “I needed space, Sakura.  It’s hard, you know?  To be around someone you…Who doesn’t…”  This wasn’t working.  He had a whole speech ready for when the confrontation happened.  Where had that gone?

             He cleared his throat and tried again.  “I needed time, that’s all.  I never wanted to lose you as a friend, you know.”  A grin forced its way across his face.  “But I’m good now.  We should –“

            “I’m seeing someone.”  That shut him up.

            “What?”

            Her eyes dropped to the table, her finger now tracing shapes like Naruto’s had been earlier.  “I never really meant to, after Sasuke.  But it happened, and I’ve moved on now.  I just don’t think I could forgive myself if you hadn’t moved on too.”

            His stomach dropped.  This was why he’d liked her in the first place; she was so strong, yet still managed to care for others so deeply. 

            The food chose that moment to arrive, and Sakura dug in like she was dreading what she knew was coming next.  His face was starting to hurt from smiling so wide, but he somehow he managed to choke out “that’s great.  Who?”

            “Rock Lee.  He’s a physical therapy student at Gai’s center.  I injured myself playing beach volleyball this summer.  That’s how we met.”  She took a bite from her salad before continuing.  “I know he’s a little eccentric, but I think he’s good for me.  I can be myself around him; I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not.”

            “That’s great.”  And he meant it too.  Every word.  “I’m happy for you.”  That, not so much.

            “Thanks.”  She was smiling sadly down at her food.  “I’m sorry if I led you on tonight.”

            “I didn’t expect anything anyway.”

            They ate the rest of the meal in silence.  Naruto ended up paying, despite Sakura’s insistence she could pay for herself at least.  But he insisted, stating it was the least he could do since he’d ignored her for the better part of four months.  When he dropped her back home – with a wave and a promise they’d hang out again like old times – he decided Tuesday couldn’t come soon enough; he had some questions for a certain raven haired bastard.

             Even though he saw Sasuke at the next three practices before Tuesday, the coach had them practicing in separate areas.  He was running drills with half the team while Sasuke practiced free throws with the other half.  Naruto suspected this had something to do with the coach’s lack of trust that they’d dealt with their issues during their ‘one-on-one’ game, but he didn’t complain.  Until he and Sasuke had a chance to talk – and really _talk_ , not have their tongues down each other’s throats – he didn’t trust himself around the Uchiha.

           So when Tuesday finally rolled around, Naruto was mostly relieved.  Partly nervous.  Ok, half nervous, half relieved. 

          Mostly nervous. 

          Tuesday was finally here, and they were going to talk.  He lagged behind after showering, saying goodbye to the rest of the team and taking longer than necessary to pull on his shirt.

          Sasuke was standing outside the locker room when he emerged.  “Took long enough, idiot.”

         “Shut up.  Unlike some _princesses_ , I actually sweat.  Sorry I took the time to shower.”

         “Hn” was the only response he got.  Bastard.  Why were they talking again?  They’d never get along.  “Where are we going?  You’re the one who wanted to talk.”

          Naruto realized he must’ve been glaring at Sasuke, because the raven had one eyebrow raised.  How did he even do that anyway?  “Uh, we can go to my place.  Kiba’s always at Hinata’s, so we’ll have privacy.”  The eyebrow rose further, the other joining it.  “Oh!  Uh…”  He spluttered, suddenly realizing how that sounded.  “I meant to talk!  Just talk!”

           “Hn.”  How a person could articulate such derision without, well, _articulating_ was beyond Naruto.  Nevertheless, they walked to the parking lot.

           “Sorry my car’s such a mess.”  He fumbled with his keys.  It wasn’t until he noticed the lack of response that he looked up.  Sasuke was nowhere to be found.  The black car from the other day swung around stopping in front of him.  “Hurry up, loser.  I don’t have all night.”  Naruto flushed.  The guy was a freaking ninja, disappearing and reappearing like that.  “You’re not driving with me?”

           “Idiot.  How would I get home afterward?”

            Oh yeah.  He’d completely forgotten.  Keys working, and car unlocked, Naruto mumbled “whatever” under his breath and got in the car.

            Sasuke followed him to his apartment even though he didn’t need to.  It was something Naruto wished he hadn’t felt the need to do; he was paranoid the whole way that he was being judged.  But Sasuke didn’t say anything when they arrived.  He didn’t say anything when they walked up three flights to Naruto’s apartment.  He didn’t even say anything when the blond dropped his keys on the ground while trying to unlock the door.

            It was dark inside, proof Kiba was indeed over at Hinata’s, and Naruto’s hand shook as he turned on the lights.  Jesus.  He was acting like a virgin on her wedding night.  Which was ridiculous.  This was _Sasuke_.  Even if something was going on between them – and that was a big if – they’d already done more together than any virgin bride would’ve felt comfortable doing.

            “Want anything to drink?”  He tossed his backpack down, trying to regain some of his composure.

            “No.”  The raven plopped down on Naruto’s couch as if he belonged there, looking decidedly bored.

            “Oh.  Ok.”  He carefully walked over and sat on the opposite side, being sure to not make eye contact.  They were silent a moment.

            “You’re the one who wanted to talk.”  The blond’s head jerked up at the sound.  “So talk.”

            “I…uhm….”  Damn.  It was dinner with Sakura all over again.

            A sigh came from his right.  “Idiot.  If you have nothing to say, I’m not going to waste my time here.”

            “I’m not an idiot!”  Naruto finally found his voice.  “Stop calling me that!”  He turned to glare at Sasuke, who looked slightly taken aback.

            “Hn.”

            “And stop making that noise!  Jesus, is that all you can say?”

            The left eyebrow raised itself gracefully.  “If all you’re going to do is yell at me, then I think I’ll leave.”

            “Bastard!”  Goddammit.  Why couldn’t he articulate his thoughts?  He moved his glare down to the coffee table.  “This is like Sakura all over again,” he mumbled.

            “What was that?”  When Naruto looked over again, a dark expression had settled over the other’s face.

            “I had dinner with Sakura.”  Good start.  “We talked.”

            “About what?”  Despite his efforts, curiosity bled through the other’s words.

            Naruto watched Sasuke’s face closely as he spoke again.  “She’s seeing someone.”  The change was instantaneous, but he wouldn’t have noticed it if he wasn’t paying such close attention.  A flash of sadness crossed his face before it settled again into indifference, and he didn’t say anything.  “I knew it!”  Naruto exclaimed.

            “What.”

            “Your expression!  Something happened between you two, didn’t it?”

            “Obviously.”  He drawled,  voice dripping with derision.

            Naruto rolled his eyes.  “You know what I mean.  Something happened and now you –“

            “Enough.”  Damn.  What was it with everyone cutting him off all the time?  “We aren’t here to talk about me and Sakura.  Get to why you wanted to talk to me or I’m leaving.”  His voice was so cold, emotionless.

            “Fine.  I just…”  How to say it?  “I just…I wanted to…”

            The raven sighed again.  “You said before we ‘couldn’t continue taking our frustrations out on each other’.  Start there.”

            But that was just the problem.  He had a hard enough time trying to come to terms with what had happened between him and Sasuke.  Vocalizing it was…impossible.  “Why did you kiss me?”  Or not.

            Uchihas could write about the art of eyebrow raising if they wanted.  Truly.  “Which time?”  The raven responded finally.

            “There were different reasons?”

            “Obviously.”  As if it were to everyone else.

            “All of them then.”

            If Sasuke sighed any more he’d run out of air to breathe.

            “Start with the alley,” Naruto urged, his curiosity getting the better of him.

            “I don’t know why I did.”  Sasuke ran a hand through his hair looking uncomfortable for the first time since he’d arrived.

            “And in the car?”

            The raven’s eyes – long since directed at the table – darted back and forth, his tongue sliding out of his mouth and gliding across his lips.  “I wanted to.”  No further explanation seemed forthcoming.  But then Sasuke kept talking.  “You looked so…lost.”

            “What?”

            “Your eyes…they were –“  There was a clicking of teeth as Sasuke forcibly stopped himself from talking.

            “Sasuke…”

            The raven in question turned his head sharply, staring directly into Naruto’s eyes.  “And why did you kiss me in the locker room?”

            _Oh god, Sasuke.  We did so much more than that._   “I don’t know either.”  But the raven’s gaze was unrelenting.  “I wanted to, I suppose.”  Still not enough; Sasuke wasn’t looking away.  “I don’t know!”  The blond’s hands flew to his hair.  “I’ve always liked girls!  Hell, I’m still not sure I’m over Sakura!  And then you” – he gestured his hand wildly toward Sasuke, barely glancing at him – “had to go and kiss me and screw all that up!  So yeah!  I don’t know!”

            Naruto took a few deep breaths to calm down before he finally looked up at Sasuke.  The raven’s face was blank, but his eyes...

            “I’m sorry.”  The Uchiha stood abruptly, looking away.  “I never meant for things to go so far.”

            “What?  Sasuke…”  He tried weakly.

            “I will keep things professional between us during the remainder of the season, don’t worry.”  No but that would mean…

            “Sasuke wait.”  But the Uchiha was moving toward the door.

            “Goodbye, Naruto.”  His fingers were on the handle.  In a flash Naruto was over there, gripping the other’s wrist.

            “Let go.”  Sasuke didn’t look at him.

            “You can’t just walk out like this.”

            “I am not in the habit of repeating myself.  _Let go_.”

            “No.  I won’t let you leave.”

            “Naruto.”  Were his ears playing tricks on him, or was there a tone of pleading in Sasuke’s voice?

            “Stay.  Please.”  His forehead fell on Sasuke’s shoulder.  “Please.”

            For a moment neither of them spoke.  “Why?”

            There it was.  The question he’d been asking himself since the night he’d sprinted into his building in the pouring rain.  The same one he’d asked the day he’d been hung-over and opened his door, and when he’d exited the locker room last Thursday more excited about the prospect of seeing Sasuke on Tuesday than having dinner with Sakura that night.  It was a question he didn’t know the answer too.  All he knew was “I want you to.”  It was out of his lips before he could stop himself.

            He waited with bated breath for the inevitable snort of irritation.  For Sasuke to shove his hand off his wrist and leave the room.  For the words ‘in your dreams idiot’ to be the last thing he heard before the door slammed closed behind the raven’s back.  But none of that came.

            Instead, Sasuke’s hand made its way under Naruto’s chin, raising the blond’s face.  Naruto allowed his eyes to meet Sasuke’s, and what he saw there almost made him stop breathing again.  More emotion than he’d ever seen before was swirling behind the black orbs.  “Naruto,” he whispered, before lowering his lips to the blond’s.

            Naruto had kissed Sasuke four times by now, but none of them were quite like this.  While the others had been filled with hate and need and passion, this one was slow and aching.  It was like the raven was trying to pour all the emotions from his eyes into Naruto, and it was working.  The blond wound his arms around Sasuke’s neck, pulling him in closer until his own back was pushed flat against the door.  The raven’s hand moved from his chin up to his cheek, his other wrapped around Naruto’s lower back, pulling the blond closer.

            Naruto’s tongue darted out, ghosting over the seam of Sasuke’s lips.  The raven’s mouth opened, and Naruto explored his mouth.  Sasuke tasted like cinnamon and spices and something else that was purely _Sasuke_ , and Naruto couldn’t get enough.  And when they finally broke apart for air, the blond didn’t suddenly ‘come to his senses’ as he had in the past.  No.  This time he was fully in control of his actions.  It felt so right.  But still…

            “This is wrong.”  He looked up and met Sasuke’s eyes.  “And it’s not that we’re both guys” – although he was still having a hard time accepting that – “but we’re on the same team, Sasuke.  We can’t…The team.”

            The raven blinked at the words, before his hands dropped to Naruto’s sides.  Naruto realized he hadn’t let go and rectified that immediately.  They didn’t move apart, however.  “You’re the one who said you wanted me to stay.”

            “I did.  I do.  I still want that.”

            “Then what?”

            “I don’t know.”

            “For someone who claims to not be an idiot, you certainly don’t know a lot.”  Naruto knew he should’ve been more irritated at the words.  But something was wrong with his emotions.  So he responded the only way he could think of; he kissed Sasuke again.

            At first, the raven didn’t respond.  Soon, though, they were back where they were before: tongues inside each other’s mouths, hands exploring the other’s body.  Naruto’s hand slid under Sasuke’s shirt, and he ran it along the smooth expanse of stomach there.  In response, the raven tugged on Naruto’s belt loop, pulling them flush together before breaking the kiss again.

            “Careful, Uzumaki.  You don’t know what you’re doing.”

            He was having a hard time catching his breath.  “No.  But who really cares?  I always wing it anyways.”

            And they were kissing again, Sasuke’s hand snaking around before dipping beneath Naruto’s waistband.  The blond shivered at the touch and bit down on the other’s lower lip.  Sasuke’s fingers trailed around Naruto’s lower back, toward his stomach and lower.  Their lips parted again when the blond felt the cool touch on something most decidedly _not_ cold.

            “Jesus.”  His forehead fell against the other’s shoulder when Sasuke’s grip tightened around his erection.  The hand slid along his length, and Naruto had to bite down on the other’s shirt to stop himself from crying out.

            He could almost feel the raven smirking through his next words.  “What was that about this being wrong again?”  A cold thumb flicked across the slit, and even through the fabric Naruto’s utterance of “fuck” was still audible.  Sasuke’s hand moved back up, then down again; a slow, agonizing rate.  And just when Naruto was positive he couldn’t survive any more teasing, a breath of air blew into his ear and Sasuke whispered “I can stop if that’s what you want.”

            Fuck being silent.

            Naruto moaned and rocked his hips forward, pushing Sasuke’s hand back up his length.  The raven’s tongue flicked out, brushing against the sensitive spot between the blond’s ear and his neck.  “But I don’t think that’s what you want.  Is it, Naruto?”  The blond in question moaned again, pulsating his hips in an effort to make the raven pump faster.  Sasuke complied, but that didn’t stop Naruto from thrusting into his hand.

            He’d just taken a shower after practice, so sure he wouldn’t be doing anything that would require a second, but after this Naruto was going to need one.  Sasuke continued to murmur encouraging words into his ear, but Naruto had long since tuned them out.  When he was like this he could focus on one thing, and right now that thing was the hand fucking him senseless.  He’d taken a cold shower after the locker room incident, but this time he would feel some release.  Jesus it felt so good.  How could a _hand_ be this intense?  Hell, it’s not like he’d never had one touch him before, but with the way his body was reacting it felt like he hadn’t.

            He could tell he was close, and when Sasuke leaned forward and bit his ear it was all over.  He let out a strangled cry that sounded like a mix between “fuck” and “Sasuke” – even he couldn’t tell what it was – before slumping against the raven.  He felt Sasuke remove his hand from his pants, a wetness settling between his thighs.  His mind dimly registered that he’d have to wash those pants before wearing them again.  They stood there, Naruto leaning against Sasuke, both breathing heavily for a while.

            “Naruto.”  The raven spoke finally.  “I said I’d keep it professional for the team.”

            “Fuck the team,” Naruto declared against Sasuke’s neck.  He felt the other smirk at that.

            “Regardless.  You said so yourself; we have to behave during practices and games if we want to remain captains.  I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

            No.  Of course not.  That made perfect sense.  And he had been the one to say that, after all.  So for the sake of the team – and his sanity – not a word of what they just did would leave the room.  “Right.  Don’t tell a soul.  Got it.”  He stood up straight, only to find he couldn’t quite meet Sasuke’s eyes.  He settled for just to the left of his ear.  What were they supposed to do now?  Well, it wasn’t like Sasuke was going to say anything.  “Thank you.”  Thank you?!  That was so awkward.  “I mean…um…”  Yes, what did he mean?  “You said you had something to do, right?  Sorry for holding you up so long.”

            Sasuke raised his eyebrow for the thousandth time that night, but didn’t respond.  “Anyway,” Naruto continued.  “I guess I’ll see you at practice tomorrow then.”  He grinned widely and stepped aside, allowing the other complete access to the door.  Sasuke glanced at him briefly, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something, before shutting it and nodding once.  He pulled open the door and exited, allowing it to close behind him.

            Naruto managed to stand smiling until the door was completely closed.  Once Sasuke was gone, however, he sunk down the wall thinking about the whole new can of worms he’d just opened and ignoring his desperate need for a shower.


	6. Sex Friends...sort of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens. Smutty smut smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delayed update. I realize I have no excuse since I'm just editing the chapters at this point instead of writing them from scratch. Oh well. Hope you like it. ^.^

            To his complete surprise, Naruto had no problem dealing with Sasuke after that.  He knew logically that – given his past with the raven – he should’ve felt awkward.  But he didn’t.

            He took in stride the idea he was – mildly – attracted to men, or at least to Sasuke.  Which was something he ended up admitting to Ino when she asked how the ‘talk’ went.  He knew he shouldn’t have told her.

            “We…uh…are getting along better now.  I think.”  He mentioned as he helped her cut some vegetables for dinner that night.  Chouji was busy working that night, so the two of them were cooking and working on homework –which of course really meant they were talking and eating.

            “You think?  What did he say?”

            “Uh…”  Naruto racked his brain, but couldn’t really remember Sasuke saying much that night.  It was hard to concentrate on anything when the other’s hand was down his pants.  “Ouch!”  He cried out as he sliced his finger open.

            “Jesus, Nar, watch what you’re doing.”  Ino shoved him out of the way and took over instead.  “Go wash some rice or something where you can’t hurt yourself.”

            He sent a glare her way, but obeyed all the same.

            “So what _did_ he say?”  Damn.  He was hoping he could get her off that topic.

            “Um…something about continuing to act professional.  You know…for the team.”  At least, he thought Sasuke said something like that.  Maybe.

            Ino cocked her head toward him.  “What, because of all the fighting?”

            “Hmmm…probably.  Yeah.”  Naruto would give all the food they were about to eat to charity if it meant Ino would drop it.

            Yeah, right.

            “Probably?  Naruto, did something happen again?”

            He cursed himself as his face flooded with heat.  Damn genetics.  “N-no.”

            “You’re bright red and stuttering.  You are aware you can’t fool me with that shitty lying, right?”

            Well, fuck.  “You suck,” he grumbled in defeat.

            “That’s not an answer, and you know it.”

            “Yes, something happened!  Just drop it, fuck.”

            “Did he kiss you again?”

            “That is _not_ dropping it.”

            Her persistence was going to be the death of him.  “So you did kiss again.”

            Maybe if he gave in, she’d leave him alone.  “Mhm.”  But it didn’t mean he was going to make it easy for her.

            “Did you go further, then?”

            Damn this woman and her mind reading ability.  “Fuck, Ino!  How do you always know these things?”

            “You did?!”  She shrieked a little more dramatically than Naruto thought the situation warranted.  “Dammit Naruto!”

            Ok, now he was confused.  “What?  What did I do?”

            “You went further than kissing him?!  Isn’t this complicated enough?!”

            “Can you stop screaming at me for five seconds?  Jesus, your voice is high enough to shatter glass.”

            “This isn’t a joke, Naruto!”

            He glared, genuinely angry at her for the first time in years.  “You told me it was fine before.  That there wasn’t anything wrong with it.”

            She sighed.  “There isn’t.”

            “Then what’s the problem?”

            “Well if you’d stop interrupting long enough to let me speak, I’d tell you.”

            He crossed his arms and waited.  That seemed to be enough to placate her.

            “Thank you.”  But she didn’t say anything further.  She’d finally set the knife down – which was a good thing too, because she had a tendency to talk with her hands – but was staring around as if the surroundings would help her with whatever she was going to say next.

            “I stopped.  You gonna say something or what?”  He was tired of waiting.  He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong and having one of his best friends disagree was grating at him.

            “It’s already complicated enough, isn’t it Naruto?  I mean, this made it worse.”

            “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  His already thin patience was disappearing.

            She clicked her tongue and started again.  “I mean, you already like Sakura; you have for years.  And now you’re sleeping with the guy who just dumped her barely a few months ago, and there’s no way either of you are over your feelings from back then.  It just seems…wrong.”

            “Jesus, Ino, we’re not _sleeping_ together.”  He shuddered thinking about all the problems _that_ would cause.  They’d have to have an awkward conversation about who would _top_ – and Naruto was pretty sure neither of them were willing to concede defeat on that one – and then there would be the messy situation of what would happen if one of them got sick of being sex friends and wanted to move into a _relationship_ …

            He shook himself from such nightmarish thoughts and came back to the present.  “And besides, Ino, Sakura’s already in a new relationship with some guy named Lee.”

            Ino waved her hand dismissively.  “Like that will last.”

            “That’s not fair!  She seemed really interested in him!”

            He expected her to retaliate, speak her side or something.  Instead, she just gazed at him with an unreadable expression.

            “What?”

            “Not too long ago, you would’ve been the one denouncing Sakura’s relationship.”

            “Well not too long ago she was dating a stuck up bastard who clearly was not good enough for her.”

            The strange expression never left the other’s face.  “Are you and Sasuke…?”  Her voice trailed off, but her intention was clear.

            “God no!”

            “No feelings for him what-so-ever?”

            “None!”

            “Just sex friends?”

            “Minus the sex!  And the friends!”

            She shook her head slightly and the strange expression finally disappeared from her face.  “I think you’re at least friends at this point.”  He thought about that one a moment.  Maybe he and Sasuke were friends now.  It wouldn’t be the first time this had happened; after all, he and Ino were a thing before they were friends.  And now they were closer than ever.  Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing; maybe he and Sasuke would finally be able to work together better than they were able to before.

            “Yeah…”  He responded intelligently.

            “Just…be careful, ok?”  Naruto nodded, but that was only to make Ino feel better.  After all, he wasn’t worried.  It wasn’t like he was in love with Sasuke or anything.  It was just that he appreciated…services rendered by the raven, and wouldn’t mind them repeated.  Sometime.  In the near future.

            But as days passed, Naruto was starting to think it never would.  Hadn’t he and Sasuke agreed that it wouldn’t affect the team?  Didn’t that mean it _could_ happen again?

            And it was ridiculous really, how he couldn’t even hear Sasuke’s name anymore without getting hard.

            A week and a half into this torture, and Naruto was positive if he were repressed any further, he’d burst.  Apparently Sasuke didn’t feel the same.  Not only had the raven _not_ approached him to initiate any kind of…relief, he was acting like his normal, stoic self.  The calm he emitted was enough to make Naruto want to shake him.  Punch him until the façade disappeared.  Beat him until he admitted he was repressed and frustrated too.

            Because, damn, the thought of the raven with a slight bruise on his jaw caused by Naruto’s own fist was hot.

            He hadn’t even realized he’d been lost in his own fantasy until something large and round slammed into his stomach.  The blond collapsed into a heap on the ground as the basketball rolled away.  Footsteps raced toward him, and he felt a hand grip under his arm and yank him upright.  “Fuck!  Naruto, I’m sorry man!”  It was Kiba.

            He groaned in response.  “Nah, I’m fine.  That’s what I get for zoning out.”

            The brunet looked like he were about to question further when a voice cut them off.  “Uzumaki, pull your head out of your ass and get up!  We’re running this again, but correctly this time!”

            The blond obeyed, clamping his hand around Kiba’s offered one and hauling himself up, before the coach could yell anymore.  He placed a temporary mental blocker on anything ‘Sasuke’ related – which was hard given they were at practice and had to run through plays together – and managed to make it through the rest of training without losing his cool again.

            He loitered around the locker room, taking longer than necessary to get dressed, which was driving Kiba up the wall.  “Naruto!  Can you please take less time than Hina to get ready?  I’m ready to go!”  The brunet stormed over to him while he was standing in his boxers, pulling his pant legs right-side-out with a speed that would make snails jealous.

            “What are you on about?”  He asked, not bothering to move any faster.

            “Let’s _go_.”

            “You’re coming home tonight?  What’s up?  You guys fight?”

            Kiba’s right eye developed a twitch.  “No.  She has a huge exam in a couple days and wanted to be alone to study.”  Naruto had taken this opportunity to stand perfectly still, opting to listen instead of talk.  Sasuke was finally out of the shower – beauty queen took ages – and was starting to get changed.

            “And can you please put on some pants?”  The brunet brought his attention back.

            Naruto smirked.  “Why?  Don’t you think I’m sexy?”

            Kiba snatched the blond’s shirt from the bench, slamming it into Naruto’s chest.  “I’m going home now.  You coming?”

            “Not yet.”  He dropped his voice, eyes down at his shirt so he wouldn’t be tempted to see if Sasuke were listening into their conversation.  “I need to talk to Sasuke about something first.”

            The brunet raised his eyebrows, ‘you sure I didn’t hit you on the head’ written clearly on his face.  “Alrighty then.  See ya.”  He left with a wave and a slight slam of the door.

            It seemed as though it were just him and Sasuke left.  Not one to take unnecessary risks for this, Naruto went down every aisle and checked all the stalls and showers before approaching the raven.

            Sasuke was mostly dressed at this point, just missing shoes and socks.  “You gonna leave in your boxers?”  He smirked.

            Naruto’s heart fluttered a bit in his chest.  It had been 10 days since the last time, and he was suddenly feeling nervous.  “What?”  He realized he hadn’t heard what the other said.

            The raven rolled his eyes, pointing down at the other’s hips.  “Boxers, idiot.”

            “Oh yeah,” he muttered absentmindedly.  “I’ll put on pants in a bit.”

            A single eyebrow was raised.  Naruto felt himself snap.  The next thing he knew, he had Sasuke pressed against the lockers, his erection on the raven’s leg.  The blond dropped his mouth to the other’s jaw, imagining how it would taste with a dark bruise on it.  Would it be any different?  Sweeter?  Maybe Sasuke would’ve applied ice to the area, leaving it cold and red to the outside air.  He bit down softly, pressing his groin against Sasuke’s leg with more force.

            “What are you doing?”  The voice cut through Naruto’s fantasy like a knife, and with a start he gave the raven a bit more space.  Not much – he was still pressed against the wall – but at least now he wasn’t chewing on the raven’s face.  Naruto felt his face burn red, realizing how strange he must’ve just looked.

            Then again, Sasuke _had_ seen his face when he’d cum the last time.  “I want…I need…”  He struggled to explain.

            “Pent up frustration?”  The raven offered helpfully, slipping one of his hands down Naruto’s bare stomach.

            “Yes,” he breathed, not sure if he were responding to the touch or the question.  Sasuke’s hand slipped lower, pausing just above his boxers.  A single pale finger dipped below the elastic, hooking itself on it, before pulling and allowing some of the air from the outside to slip in.  Naruto gasped as he hardened further.  Sasuke released the elastic, letting it snap back against the blond’s skin.  It stung slightly, but for whatever reason that only turned him on more.

            “Sasuke…”  He whined, pushing the other flat against the lockers again, his leg now firmly planted between the other’s.  To his great relief, the raven seemed almost equally into this as he was.  Tentatively, Naruto ground his hips against the other’s leg.  Damn.

            He dropped his head down to Sasuke’s neck, pushing his shirt back so he could suck on the area normally covered with fabric.  The other let out a soft groan in response, his hand once more slipping down to hook onto the waistband of Naruto’s boxers.  The blond ground his hips harder against the other’s leg.

            Sasuke’s other hand gripped Naruto’s hip tight enough to bruise, and the blond felt himself suddenly shifted; his erection no longer against Sasuke’s leg.  “Hinnn...”  He complained, until he felt a completely new sensation.  Sasuke had situated him so their hips were aligned.

            Naruto thrust forward, testing this new position.  Both he and Sasuke let out unrestrained moans at the sensation.  The blond did it again but harder this time, shoving Sasuke’s entire body into the lockers with a loud clang, before setting a rhythm.  He only paused when the raven stopped him to unzip the restricting jeans he had on and slip them down so they were boxer-to-boxer.  Once Sasuke managed that, he continued thrusting, but harder and faster this time.  He was positive he’d never felt anything quite so wonderful before.

            But then the raven gripped both of their erections in his hands, rubbing them together with only the cloth between.  Between the hand-job and the thrusting, the blond could feel the moment to his release closing in.  Then Sasuke slipped his thumb past the slit in Naruto’s boxers, rubbing his thumb across the tip.

Naruto’s entire body spasmed and he was blinded by white for a moment.  He kept his hips moving, riding out his orgasm as Sasuke gasped, thrusting his hips into Naruto’s and nearly lifting the two of them off the lockers in the process.

            They stood there, slumped against each other breathing hard, for a few minutes, before the blond braced himself against the locker with his elbows and pushed himself off.  They didn’t make eye contact, choosing instead to dress in silence.  Naruto had already resigned himself to the fact he’d need to change his underwear once he got home; these were going to be stiff soon.

            It wasn’t until he was pulling his shirt on that Naruto realized Sasuke was standing there, staring at him.  A quick once over revealed the other was fully dressed – shoes and all – and appeared to be waiting.  Naruto blushed a bit, turning to pull on his own socks as he tried to maintain his composure.  He’d thought about this a bit; what he’d say to Sasuke about their situation.  He just needed to stop failing at delivering his pre-planned speeches.

            It would work a lot better if he delivered it to the floor.

            “Look.  I’m not gay,” he started, staring at the white tile, hoping Sasuke was still listening.  “And I don’t really think you are either.  I mean, you dated Sakura for ages.”  Gaining confidence, he stood straight, slipping his feet into his shoes and grabbing his bag, though still not quite making eye contact with the other.  “We’re just…two guys who were recently rejected – well not you really, but whatever – relieving some sexual frustration in a convenient way.  Right?”  At this he finally locked eyes with the raven.

            Sasuke, expressionless as always, gave what could only be interpreted as a nod of consent.  Sort of.

            “So…we’re good?”

            The same…nod thing.

            “And,” He sucked in a deep breath.  This was the hard part.  “We can keep doing this right?”

            The raven was silent for so long, Naruto thought he’d died right there.  He opened his mouth to ask again, suddenly unsure if he’d spoken aloud or just in his head, when Sasuke finally responded.

            “So, you want us to be sex friends?”

            “Yeah…that sounds about right.”

            Sasuke had the look on his face that meant he was about to disagree.  Naruto decided it was time for a preventative measure.  “But only if you want.  And only as long as we agree it’s temporary until one of us finds a girlfriend.  And if we don’t do jealousy and sleepovers and gay shit like that.”

            The look deepened.

            Desperate, Naruto lost control over his mouth.  “It’s just that me and Ino were sex friends before we were friends and look how that worked out.  We’re really close and all, and it’s just that you and I have a hard time getting along and I feel like this might be a really stupid idea, but it could work.  At least, it could maybe work for the team.  It’s better than us fighting all the time anyway, right?  I just –“

            A hand clamped on his mouth and only then did Naruto realize just how close Sasuke had gotten.  His eyes widened, but he didn’t try to say anything.

            “Fine.”  The raven removed his hand, seemingly satisfied the blond was no longer about to word vomit all over.

            “Really?”

            Sasuke sighed, covering his eyes with his hands in a sign of resignation.  “Don’t look so excited or I’ll change my mind.”

            Naruto almost glared in response, then remembered there was one more thing he wanted to clarify.  “We won’t…you know…actually….right?”

            The raven furrowed his brows in confusion before realization dawned on his face.  He gave Naruto a faint smirk of amusement and turned to grab his bag before walking to the door.  “See you around loser.”  He waved in farewell.

            Naruto almost ran after him to demand a real answer, but decided against it when he realized he was still just in his socks.  He pulled on his shoes and grabbed his bag, coming up with a cover story for when Kiba inevitably asked him what happened.  This was something his roommate really didn’t need to hear.  And he wasn’t telling Ino either.


	7. To Get What You Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smuttage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. I've been crazy busy, so I haven't had time to edit.

            “Pick it up, ladies!  Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”  As usual, someone had done something to incur the coach’s wrath, and the entire team was running laps around the gym before practice would be let out for the day.  This time Naruto was proud to say it wasn’t his fault.

            The team was starting to wear out, but when the blond checked the clock and saw there were only two minutes left, he got his second wind.  Kiba shot him a strange look as Naruto pulled past him, slowing down again when he reached Sasuke.  The raven just gave him a strange sideways glance.

            “Hey,” Naruto smiled, not showing any sign he was breathing hard.  “So I was thinking…you and me after practice.  Sound good?”  The only response he got was a glare and a raise of the eyebrows which clearly said ‘are we really talking about this now?’ while not saying anything at all.  But Naruto wasn’t bothered by that.  “Sweet.  My place is free since Hinata finished her tests.  See ya there.”  He winked cheekily at the other before pulling ahead and reaching the coach just as the man called time.

            “Dude,” Kiba called to him as soon as they entered the locker room.  “What was that all about?”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Naruto already had his shirt pulled off and gave the other a noogie as he walked past into the showers.

            “You’re acting weird.  Wait.”  He caught up to the blond, just as he pulled off his shorts.  “You got laid.  Didn’t you?”

            Naruto pulled off his boxers and got into the shower.  “Ha.  I wish.”

            “Then why are you giggling like an idiot?”

            “Who’s giggling?”  He questioned as the water splashed down his face.  He heard a sigh from the shower Kiba had just stepped in as the water turned on.

            “Nevermind, man.”

            Naruto just shrugged and let it go.  He took an extra-long shower, like he had been doing recently, just grunting when Kiba yelled that he was leaving to go to Hinata’s that night.  The door slammed shut with one last call for the blond to have a good weekend when he finally decided to shut the water down.  He was the last one in the locker room, but it didn’t bother him.  In fact, ever since he and Sasuke had started messing around, he’d been in a good mood.  Nothing could bother someone who was – kinda – getting some.

            So he was still grinning like an idiot when he bounced outside and found Sasuke leaning against his car.  “You waited for me?”  His smile grew when the raven averted his gaze, somewhat embarrassed.

            “I knew you didn’t drive here, idiot.”  Sasuke pushed off the car, before opening the driver’s door and sliding in.  “Just get in the car.”

            The blond obeyed, hoping he would be able to keep his hands to himself up until they got inside his apartment. 

            He almost made it.

            He grabbed Sasuke and pushed him against the door, pressing their lips together right as he leaned in to unlock it.  The two of them stumbled inside, breaking apart only so the blond could lock the door and turn on the lights.

            “What’s that for?”  The raven asked the second time they broke for air.

            “Nothing, I’m just in a good mood.”  He dropped his mouth to the other’s neck, biting on it like he remembered Sasuke doing to him several times now.  His hands slipped down the raven’s body, feeling the well-toned muscles tighten under his touch.  Naruto was so focused on his own movements, he’d lost track of Sasuke’s until he felt the other’s hands grab his ass.  He released his mouth from the raven’s neck and pressed himself flush against the other’s body.  They’d already jerked each other off several times at this point – usually after practice or on a night neither of them had plans – and Naruto wanted to try something…new.

            He slid down Sasuke’s body, landing on his knees in front of the other, suddenly breathing faster than he had been moments earlier.  The other gasped.  “W-what are you doing?”  Naruto was positive he’d never heard Sasuke stutter in his life.

            “Wh-what do you think?”  Shit.  He stuttered too.  But dammit, he wanted Sasuke to give him head so badly.  And if there’s one thing Naruto had learned when sleeping with Ino, it was that if you wanted to _get_ something, you had to _give_ it in return.  Sometimes even before you could get what you want.  Still, he couldn’t bring himself to look back up at the raven.  If Sasuke were giving him a look of disgust – quite probable – then this whole charade would end and Naruto would have humiliated himself to the point he’d never be able to set foot on the court with the raven again.

            So, yeah, this had to work.

            His hands shook slightly as he reached up to unbutton the jeans.  The other didn’t stop him, didn’t say anything, until Naruto managed to pull down his pants and boxers.  It wasn’t until he was exposed, half hard, that Sasuke spoke.  “You don’t have to do this.”

            Naruto wrapped his hand around the other’s cock, pumping a few times to get it harder.  He wanted to tell him that he didn’t _have_ to do this, he _wanted_ to do this, but the words stuck in his throat.  No, he didn’t want to do this.  What he _did_ want was to feel the raven’s talented tongue swirling around his own –

            “Naruto.”  Sasuke’s hand held the blond’s head in place, not letting it any closer to the ever arousing member.  “You really don’t have to do this.”

            And just then, Naruto made the big mistake of looking up.  The raven was staring down at him with a hungry expression in his eyes, looking very much like he was holding himself back from ramming his erection down Naruto’s throat.  Suddenly, it seemed to the blond as if _he_ were the one in control, despite being on his knees in front of the other.

            With a burst of confidence, he closed his eyes and took Sasuke in his mouth.  It could have been a moment – or it could have been forever – that Naruto sat there, not moving.  The Uchiha tasted like a combination of salt, soap, and that strangely cinnamon flavour he had come to associate with Sasuke.  Naruto’s tongue jerked upward, pressing against the bottom of Sasuke’s shaft as he swallowed nervously, prompting a low moan to emanate from the other’s throat.

            The sound was encouragement enough, and Naruto swirled his tongue around the raven’s erection, moving his head back as he did.  Sasuke’s breath hitched as the blond pushed forward again, blowing out a little in the way he, himself, liked.  He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see what he was doing – that would make it too real – and never took Sasuke in too close to his gag reflex.  After a couple more times doing this, he had to grab onto the other’s thighs to keep himself up.  Sasuke’s hand – which Naruto had forgotten was on his head still – tightened its grip on his hair, which for some reason caused Naruto’s own member to harden.  He gasped, breaking away from what he was doing, saliva dripping down his chin.  Sasuke’s hand twitched like it was trying to get him to return to what he was doing, but stopped itself.  Naruto wiped his chin off on the back of his sleeve, before taking Sasuke in his mouth once more.

            This time, he got into a rhythm, bobbing his head back and forth until Sasuke was panting.  The raven had abandoned his hold on Naruto’s hair, instead slamming his hand onto the counter behind him and using it to hold himself up.  The sounds coming from the raven – poorly suppressed moans released every time Naruto’s tongue did something surprising – were turning Naruto on more.  Soon, he was fully hard, and unable to control himself anymore.  He unbuttoned his pants with one hand, slipping it beneath his boxers.  By the first stroke, he was already letting out a moan against the other’s skin.  Sasuke responded in like, gripping Naruto’s hair once more.

            It had barely begun but they were already both so, _so_ close.  He sped his motions of both his hand and his mouth – absentmindedly thanking basketball for his coordination – as they neared completion.  He came first, his mouth stopping on Sasuke as he panted and rode out his ecstasy, stroking until it was over.  He regained his earlier pace, and in almost no time at all, the other swelled, and Sasuke shoved Naruto away before he pumped himself to completion.  He came with a strangled groan – getting most of it on Naruto’s shirt – then collapsed to the ground.

            Naruto fell from his knees onto his back, breathing heavily.  He swept up some cum onto his finger and stared at it as it threatened to drip off.  In porn, the women always swallowed it to the last drop, raving about the taste and the pleasure.  He wasn’t so sure about that, and it certainly wasn’t something he wanted to try.  Instead he wiped it on his shirt again, listening as Sasuke’s breaths calmed back down.

            “So…”

            “What was that all about?”  Naruto turned his head.  Sasuke was sitting, leaning against the counter – his boxers and pants pulled back on, but not zipped – staring at the door.

            He shrugged, then rolled his head back up to the ceiling.  “Nothing, just…if you want something, you have to give it in return…you know?”

            There was a pause.  “You want me to – “

            “No,” the blond interrupted.  “I mean, yes.  But not right now.  I’m…I’m good.”

            “Oh.”

            It was still a little awkward.  Leading up to the sex – and during the sex itself – they were fine; it was never weird.  But afterward…afterward neither of them ever really knew what to say.  They weren’t together, and they’d never been friends before, so they didn’t know how to act.  Or at least Naruto didn’t know.  Sasuke never talked much anyway.

            “I’m gonna head out.”  There was a rustling sound, and when Naruto next looked, Sasuke was grabbing his coat and keys.

            He sat up.  “Yeah, I need to shower anyway.”  Naruto wasn’t really sure why he took such long showers after practice; he always ended up having to take a second one after he and Sasuke were done.

            The raven walked out of the apartment with one last “bye” before Naruto even sat up.

* * *

 

            The biggest problem with this whole arrangement, Naruto decided sometime around 2 am, was that he was hornier than he had ever been in his life.  Even when he and Ino were sleeping together, he couldn’t remember wanting it this badly all the time.  He was literally laying in his bed, staring at his phone debating if he was going to text Sasuke to come over or not.

            On the one hand it was a Friday, and chances were Sasuke wasn’t even asleep yet.  Based on what he knew about the raven, he finished all his homework Friday evenings so he could be free on the weekend.  Sakura had sometimes complained that it meant they never had date nights until Saturday because of it.  He had no idea what the raven did now that he was single, but he doubted an Uchiha would break his habits.

            But on the other hand, it was 2 am and they’d already done gotten each other off earlier.  Not to mention he’d never booty called the raven before.  Nor had they done it twice in a day before – usually the blond satisfied the rest of his cravings alone – so calling was probably a bad idea.

            That didn’t stop him from shooting Sasuke a text though.  _‘Hey.  How’s it going?’_   He regretted it instantly.

            His phone vibrated almost as soon as he had that thought.  _‘Go to bed loser, we have practice tomorrow.’_

_‘Not until noon or whatever,’_ Naruto grinned.

            Once again, the response time was practically instant.  _‘Eleven, idiot.’_

_‘Well if I go to sleep right now, I can still get nine hours of sleep.’_ He couldn’t help himself.

            _‘Only if you plan to sleep through warm up.’_

_‘Shut up!’_

_‘What did you want anyway?’_

He paused before responding.  If he was going to do it, now was the chance.  _‘I was wondering if you want to come over or something…’_   Delete.  Delete, delete, delete.  _‘No reason, just couldn’t sleep.’_   No, that was stupid too.  Maybe he would just ignore it…or something.

            _‘Seriously though, get some rest.  Practice is gonna be rough.’_   The raven responded before Naruto could make up his mind.  Fuck, Sasuke was a mind reader.

            _‘Yeah, sure.  Night.’_

            What was wrong with him?

* * *

 

            He ended up staying up until well after 4 am, tossing and turning until he calmed his body down to the point he could fall asleep.  So of course, the next morning Sasuke’s prediction came true, and Naruto was late to practice.  He could feel the raven smirk at him when the coach yelled that he was going to be running two minutes for every one he was late.

            The threat was followed through at the end of practice, when the blond was left running while all his friends and teammates walked out with various catcalls and mocking words.  He waved a final goodbye to Neji as the coach finally called time.  The man shook his head.  “You’ve been doing so well, Uzumaki.”

            “Yeah, I’m sorry coach, I just missed my alarm or something…”

            “You were late.”  He gave a heaving sigh, like saying the next few words was a gross effort.  “I already talked to Uchiha about this, but in three weeks during in our match against University of Suna, there is going to be a recruiter coming to watch you two.”

            Naruto’s jaw dropped.  “Seriously?”

            “Yes, Uzumaki, seriously.”  He seemed to be trying to contain a smile.  “So I need you to be here.  _On time_.  And continuing to work well with your teammates.”

            It took everything in him to not salute Coach.  “Yes sir!  Of course!”

            “Alright, have a good rest of your weekend.”

            He waited until the coach was out of sight before jumping in the air and sprinting into the locker room yelling “yes!”  He heard a locker slam shut and found Sasuke when he turned the corner.  “Hey.”

            The raven, still wearing his workout clothes, leaned back against the lockers behind him.  “So I take it you heard.”

            “Damn straight.”  He pulled the raven toward him by his collar, backing into the showers.  “And I know exactly how to celebrate.”

            “Do you.”

            The blond pulled back the curtain to the shower, the raven closing it behind them.  “I think it’s time I cash in on that favour you owe me.”  He ripped his shirt off, still stumbling backwards and hitting the handle, turning the shower on by accident.  Naruto let out a bark of laughter at the look on Sasuke’s face when he was hit by the stream.  “Oh man, you should see your face.”

            Sasuke tore his own shirt off.  “Shut up.”  And then his lips were on Naruto’s neck.

            The blond moaned instantly, already turned on by the other’s actions.  He’d been aching for this since the raven left the night before and it showed.  Sasuke moved down the tan skin, nipping and sucking as he went, while Naruto became more and more breathless.  Soon, the water felt too cold against his skin, and he had to turn it up again.

            Sasuke’s fingers grabbed at Naruto’s shorts, and in one swift motion, they were ripped off.  The raven’s tongue played with the blond’s nipple, who was panting at the sensation.  He let out a cry when the other grabbed hold of his erection.  This wasn’t exactly what he was hoping for but –

            As if on cue, Sasuke broke away from his actions, going into a fully kneeling position.  If possible, Naruto felt himself grow harder.  He practically came when the other placed his lips on the tip of his cock.  Just like when he’d given Sasuke head, the other sat there unmoving.  At first, Naruto thought he was scared, then he realized that _he_ – not Sasuke – was whimpering.  Well shit.  That was embarrassing.

            “C-con-tinue,” he breathed, trying to regain some control over himself.  The raven obeyed, his tongue wrapping itself around Naruto’s erection as his slid his mouth further down.  The blond’s eyes rolled to the back of his head.  He wasn’t going to make it very long.  Sasuke moved back out, this time allowing his tongue to trace itself across the tip lathered with pre-cum.

            Naruto snatched at the wall, cursing their lack of soap holders or something other than slick marble to grab on to.  His legs were starting to wobble, and his thoughts weren’t working properly from lack of blood flow.  Sasuke’s hands wrapped around his thighs, holding him in place.  He made a mental note to thank the raven later.  For quite a few things.

            Sasuke’s head bobbed back and forth as he built up a rhythm, Naruto’s breathing matching the pace.  He was having a hard time telling if he was sweating, or if the water dripping down his body was just from the shower.  Probably a combination of both.  But then the raven hummed, shooting vibrations down Naruto’s shaft, before sucking in his cheeks and speeding up the pace.  The combination of the speed and tight area was too much for him.  “S-Sas…I’m gon –“  He sucked in a breath.  “Gonna cum!”  The raven didn’t stop, and Naruto’s vision went white.

            When he came down from his orgasm, he realized Sasuke was standing before him – somehow he’d ended up sinking down the wall – and there was a collection of cum now rushing down the drain.  The raven spit, a small amount of white coming out, before swirling down with the rest.  So he wasn’t a swallower either.

            A shadow covered his vision, and Naruto glanced up to see the other holding out a hand to him, which he greatfully accepted and stood up.  “I figured it’s pointless to take two showers a day.”

            “Mhm.  Except we steamed up the entire locker room.”

            “Did we really?”  He stumbled out, legs still a little weak, and saw the entire place covered in steam.  “Wow, it looks like there was a fire in here!”  A rushing sound came from behind him, and he turned to see Sasuke walk into a second shower.

            “I’m going to take a real shower before all the hot water runs out.”

            “Yeah, fair point.”  He walked back into his, noting the two pairs of clothes still being drenched on the floor.  The water was a bit colder than it had been before, but that could’ve just been because his own temperature had cooled down.  “You know,” he said while shampooing his hair, “you talk a lot more than you used to.”

            A snort came from the other shower stall.  “You just aren’t trying to punch me anymore.”

            “True.”

            Sasuke’s shower stopped, and the raven walked back into his, bending down to gather his clothes.  Naruto perked in interest.  “Careful there, Sasuke, I might attack you again.”

            The raven stood, smirking, and stepped closer.  His hand reached out, brushing some soap out of Naruto’s face.  His fingers lingered just above Naruto’s ear, as he lowered his voice to something more sensual than the blond had heard before.  “I don’t think you can this fast.”

            The raven backed away, his fingers trailing down Naruto’s neck, drawing a burning path on his skin in their wake.  And the blond wasn’t sure, but he could swear the other winked as he walked away.  It took several minutes for his heart to restart.


	8. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Return to the Alley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dubious consent with alcohol involved, be warned. I do not condone sleeping with someone while intoxicated. Side note: very sorry if the paragraphs look strange. Formatting got messed up when I copy-pasted.

            Kiba decided the best way to celebrate Naruto – and Sasuke – being scouted for the NBA was by going to the bars.  So a week after the announcement was made – Naruto was sure they would’ve gone earlier, he’d just forgotten to tell them – the team wound up at the Akatsuki.  They were joined by Ino, Chouji, and Sakura.  The last was a surprise to everyone.  Especially Naruto.

            “Hey Sakura!  I didn’t think I’d see you tonight.”  He hadn’t exactly forgotten what happened the last time they were at this bar together.

            Neither did she.  “Yeah.  This time, though, _I’m_ gonna be the one challenging you to pool.”  That was _not_ the memory he was referring to.  Not that this one was much better.

            “How bout not.”

            “Oh yes,” his sometimes-roommate interrupted, wearing a shit-eating grin.  “I _love_ watching Naruto get his ass kicked playing pool.”  A chorus of agreements followed Kiba’s statement.

            Naruto glared around at all the traitors: Ino, Chouji – damn it he barely knew the guy –, Shikamaru, even Neji.  The only one on his side was Sasuke. 

            “That would be funny.”  The raven said, no emotions showing on his face.

            Scratch that.  No one was on his side.  He hated everyone.  And he told them so.  “You all suck, you know that?”

            Sasuke smirked.  “No, loser, I think _you’re_ the one who sucks.”

            Kiba guffawed as he and everyone else made their way to the tables in the back.  Naruto flushed.  To his friends and everyone around, it probably just seemed like the raven was making a joke about his lack-lustre pool skills.  But to him, that comment had a different meaning.  A _very_ different one.

            “Watch it,” he whispered as he walked by the raven.  Celebrating with his friends was not the time or place for him to get a hard on for his sort-of-friend-with-more-than-a-couple-benefits.  They would have to wait until they left later in the night.  And hope Kiba was going back to Hinata’s place.

            The two joined up with the rest of the team who managed to find a free table and crowded around them.  Kiba immediately tossed Naruto a stick, who caught it without dropping his glare.  “Get ready to lose, Uzumaki.”

            “You’ll be eating those words, dog-face.”  The blond made his way around to the other side.  “It’s not gonna go down like it did last time.”

            “Oho!  Big words from a big loser!”  Sakura was the one smack-talking this time.  She too had a large pool stick in her hand and was twirling it around like a pro.

            “What are you doing?”  He asked.

            “I told you: I’m the one challenging you this time.”

            “Oh it’s on, pinkie.”  He smirked at her, overly confident about his imminent win.

            It was a slaughter.  Sakura kicked his ass at pool more thoroughly than either Kiba or Shikamaru ever had.  They’d gathered a crowd of admirers, but this time they were all for Sakura.  Several girls _had_ wandered over to see why a group of extremely attractive men was gathered around a pool table, but they’d left as soon as they saw how _badly_ Naruto was doing.  Needless to say, he was more than a little embarrassed.  Sasuke’s whole lean-against-the-back-wall-and-smirk-at-him-silently thing didn’t help either.

            After the thrashing – and the catcalling and the mocking laughter and the imitations that followed – Naruto decided he needed a drink.  Kiba joined him at the bar, shoving him playfully and stealing the beer he’d ordered.

            “Hey, can I get another one!”  The blond yelled at the retreating bartender.  “What’s up Kiba?”

            “So I was thinking,” the brunet launched off with no preamble, “that you have been acting super strange.  You said you aren’t getting laid, but if that were really true you wouldn’t be glowing all the damn time.”

            “I am not _glow_ –“

            “Ah, ah, ah.”  Kiba thrust his finger in front of Naruto’s face.  “Let me finish.”  The blond shut his mouth.  “So to prove yourself not a liar, you need to find a hot chick and get laid.  Tonight.  You’ll have the place to yourself anyways.”

            “What?”

            “Otherwise, you’re basically admitting that you’re getting some and aren’t telling me.”

            Naruto shook his head, grabbing his beer as the bartender miraculously returned.  “That’s not what it means.”

            The shit-eating grin reappeared on Kiba’s face.  “So who is it?  Sakura?  Ino?  That hot brunette girl in your English class?”

            The blond held his hand up defensively.  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.  I’m not banging anyone.”  He took a large sip of his beer.  “And to prove it, I’m gonna find a hot chick and bang her.  Tonight.”

            “Yeah!”  Kiba hi-fived him.  “That’s what I’m talking about!”  Dog-face always turned into a real ‘bro’ when he got drunk.

            But Naruto had to admit, as he scoped the room out for ‘hotties’, that Kiba had a point.  Probably.  He’d spent too long messing around with Sasuke that he’d forgotten he was straight.  Well, kind of straight.  For the longest time he’d wanted a _girlfriend_ – well a certain pink-haired one, but semantics – that he could dote on; take on dates, buy flowers for, have committed sex with.  How could he have forgotten that?

            Tonight he was going to find a girl and ask her on a date.  He wasn’t going to take her home and seduce her like his drunk friend wanted.  (Kiba would regret saying that in the morning anyway.)  But he _was_ going to find someone he could settle down with for at least a little while.

            And no raven-haired bastard – as attractive and incredible at giving head though he may be – would hinder that.  They weren’t committed to each other anyway; they were just sex friends, pure and simple.

           His eyes fell on a cute brunette with the body of a goddess.  She was eyeing him up and down, and from the look on her face she liked what she saw.  Naruto turned back to Kiba.  “Jackpot,” he whispered.  “See ya later.”

           Naruto sauntered up to the girl, who coyly turned back to the bar, sipping her drink.  It was a nearly empty glass of what appeared to be a green martini.  He’d always wanted to try this move.  “Another Appletini for the lady,” he ordered once the bartender was within view.

           The girl turned to him.  “You certainly know your drinks.”

           He shot his most winning smile at her, amazed at just how smoothly this was going.  “Yeah, well it’s a good thing too.”  He leaned on closer as if whispering a secret.  “It’s so hard to get that bartender’s attention.”

           She smiled at him as he leaned back.  “My hero.”  It was working.  It was actually working.  He could hardly believe it.

           The new drink was placed in front of her, and Naruto paid it before she had the chance to complain.  Not that she even tried to.  She took a sip of it while he tried to come up with his next move.

           Just then, a guy he’d never seen before pushed his way between the two of them.  “Two beers please!”  He yelled before turning to the girl, effectively blocking off Naruto.  “Hey there, sweet cheeks.  What’s your name?”  The blond heard her tut and watched her walk away.  “Tch.  Women.”  The guy sat in her seat and looked at Naruto this time.  “Am I right?”

           “Hey man, what’s your problem?”  He managed to reign in his anger.

           The guy frowned in confusion.  “What do you mean?  Your friend over there said you needed an out.”  He gestured back the way he’d come.  Naruto’s gaze followed the guy’s hand just in time to see a head of spiked raven hair disappear into the crowd.  He should’ve known.

           Rather than follow Sasuke, Naruto left the bar to go find the girl.  The raven could play whatever games he wanted, but in the end it was going to be Naruto who went home with an attractive girl’s number.  He found her standing at a table just outside the area where they’d been playing pool earlier.  “Hey,” he said as he approached.  “That was weird right?”

            “Definitely.”  She smiled at him again.  Good.  He hadn’t lost quite yet.

            “So…what’s your name?”  He asked, leaning in closer to her so the same thing wouldn’t happen again.

            But he didn’t have to worry about that, because before the girl could answer, a drunk man stumbled into her.  She cried out in irritation as her drink spilled all over the front of her shirt.  “Whoa…”  The guy drawled.  “Sorry…”

            “You know what?”  Naruto was starting to get angry now.  “Back off.”

            “Be cool man, it was just an accident.”

            “Just back off, ok?”

            The guy backed away, his hands held up defensively.  “Ok ok.”

            Naruto turned back to the girl.  She backed away from him too.  “It’s ok.  He’s gone.  See?”

            “It’s not him.  I think you’re bad luck.”  She walked away.  “Sorry.”

            He looked around, trying to find that stupid raven haired bastard.  It didn’t take long.  Sasuke was leaning against the back wall, behind the pool tables, smirking at him.  He marched up to the raven, bad intentions written clearly on his face.

            “Hey can I talk to you.”  It wasn’t a question, and when Sasuke didn’t respond, the blond practically drug him out of the bar.  Remembering what happened last time they’d gotten into a fight here, he went straight to the alley behind the bar.

            “What’s your problem?”  The raven finally spoke when they were alone.

            “My problem?!  What’s your problem?!  This was, of course, accented by the finger Naruto jabbed into Sasuke’s chest.

            The raven raised one of his damn eyebrows.  Naruto felt his own eye twitch.  “I don’t have a problem.  Maybe you’re mistaking your actions for mine.”

            “What about in there, huh?  I was finally, _finally_ , going to get a girlfriend.  And you!  You” – this was growled more than said – “had to ruin it for me.  Why can’t you just let me be happy?!  Jesus!”

            Sasuke narrowed his eyes.  “My apologies.  I didn’t realize that was your type.”

            Naruto was done.  He was so beyond done.  “Oh my god!  My type?!  You sound like a jealous girl!  We’re not _boyfriends_ , Sasuke!  I can sleep with whoever or whatever I want!”  He threw his hands in the air to emphasize his point.

            “I am aware of that.”  The air surrounding them chilled a bit with the tone Sasuke used.  Naruto shivered, but didn’t let it back him down.

            “Really?  Because it kinda seems like you’re not.” 

            The raven could’ve died for all the response he was giving, but it wasn’t until Naruto looked into his face that he realized he must’ve hit a nerve.  Honestly, his first clue should’ve been when Sasuke didn’t correct his grammar earlier.  The anger deflated in his chest – not all of it, just some of it.

            “Sasuke?”

            “What.”  He snapped in reply.

            Naruto sighed.  “Look, I didn’t mean to piss you off or anything, but seriously man, your jealousy act was really throwing me for a loop.”

            “I’m not jealous.”

            It was Naruto’s turn to smirk.  “You weren’t huh?  Because glaring at every person talking to me, making snide comments at the people hitting on me, and trying to be close to me all night say otherwise.”

            Sasuke shot him a look that could’ve killed him if the raven had the ability to create fire with his eyes.  Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t.  Not in this universe.

            “What?  Not gonna respond?”  He grinned.  “It’s because I’m right, isn’t it?”  Just to emphasize his point, Naruto ran one finger down Sasuke’s chest.  “You were jealous that someone else was gonna –“

            The raven shut him up the way he always did; by slamming their mouths together in a heated kiss.  Naruto allowed himself to be shoved up against the wall as the raven slid one knee between his legs brushing against his half hard erection.  The blond wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, burying his fingers in Sasuke’s hair as he kissed back.

            The blond smirked as they broke apart.  “Looks like I was ri –“

            But Sasuke apparently had no intention of letting him speak.  Naruto was silenced with another deep kiss, and the raven’s hands dropped to his hips.  He heard a zipper when they took a break to breathe and felt a cool air on his cock before it was covered by a sweaty hand.

            He was barely given two strokes before the hand disappeared.  He felt his pants and boxers drop to his knees – held up only by the raven’s leg – and a pair of hands gripped his ass.

            Naruto gasped into the kiss.  Sasuke’s head dipped to his neck, sucking and biting on the skin covering his collar bone, as his hands kneaded their way around Naruto’s ass, getting closer and closer to his entrance as they went.

            “Sasuke…what?”  He panted.

            The raven in question removed one of his hands, bringing two fingers to Naruto’s lips.  “Hush,” he whispered huskily, thrusting them into the blond’s mouth.  Naruto wasn’t sure if he wanted what Sasuke was offering, but he’d also had enough alcohol to not want to say no.  So he sucked and licked at the other’s fingers, lubing them up for what was to come.

            Once satisfied with the amount of ‘lube’ on his fingers, Sasuke removed his hand from Naruto’s mouth, returning it once again to the blond’s ass.  He traced a few circles just around the outside of Naruto’s entrance before placing one finger on it, pressing experimentally.

            “Relax,” he muttered that same husky tone into Naruto’s ear, before biting down on the earlobe.  Naruto let out an unrestrained moan of pleasure, and the raven took that opportunity to plunge his finger inside.

            The blond gasped at the feeling.  He must’ve relaxed unintentionally, because it didn’t hurt.  He wasn’t sure how it felt.  Just…weird.  The raven twisted and curled the digit, moving it in and out as he went.  Sasuke lowered his body, using the wall behind Naruto as leverage, and thrust his finger in deeper.  “Ah!”  Naruto’s eyes fluttered when he felt Sasuke push against…something.

            The raven smirked, plunging his digit in and out of the blond, hitting the spot every time now, and moved his free hand to the corner of Naruto’s mouth.  “Suck,” he ordered.  The blond obeyed, but it was sloppy this time.  He bit down on Sasuke’s fingers every time the raven hit him in that spot, and a string of drool followed them when Sasuke removed his hand.

            Naruto felt the finger leave his body and let out a moan of protest that surprised himself.  It didn’t last for long though, because the next thing he knew Sasuke’s other hand – the one freshly lubed – was on his ass.  And this time it was two fingers that entered.

            They scissored, stretching him, and thrust in and out.  Sasuke was kneeling at this point, his mouth on Naruto’s exposed hip.  The raven’s now free hand came up to pump Naruto’s fully aroused member as he suckled on the tender skin of the blond’s hipbone. 

            The combination of _that spot_ being constantly hit – at different angles and with varying amounts of force, oh _god_ – Sasuke’s mouth ravaging him, and the raven’s hand working his erection was too much.  Naruto reached his climax in a dizzying flash of white – or black, he couldn’t really tell – crying out something he didn’t register.  When he came down from his high, he realised he was sitting on the ground, pants returned to their proper position – though not zipped – with his back against the wall.

            Sasuke was already standing.

            The thought briefly registered in the blond’s head that he should return the favour somehow.  “Let’s get a taxi and head to my place, ok?”  He asked, noting his voice came out throatier than he’d intended.  The raven held out his hand and helped him up.  For a second he thought he saw a smile on Sasuke’s face.  But that wasn’t possible.  It was probably just a trick of the light.

             “Hn,” was the raven’s response as he led the way out of the alley.  Naruto followed, walking tenderly.  It didn’t hurt, but he felt stretched.  It was such an odd feeling.  He caught up to the raven, throwing his arm around the other’s shoulders.  This was way better than what Kiba had planned anyway.

             Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from inside the alley.


	9. Ninjas vs. Samurais

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scout comes to the game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More heavily edited than the other chapters, though I managed to refrain from changing content.

            No matter what they did, Sasuke never spent the night, and that was no exception.  The raven saw Naruto to his apartment before getting right back in his taxi and heading home.  The blond had been mildly upset he couldn’t repay the favour from the alley but decided quickly that there would be another time.

            That time didn’t come soon, though, when their training regimen increased over the next week in preparation for their game against Sand University.  Naruto was more than ready to impress the scout coming to that game.  He threw himself into practice with such renewed vigour that he didn’t even notice he hadn’t had sex in a week.

            The day before the match, Coach pulled him and Sasuke aside.  “Good practice boys.  Now I want you both” – he looked at Naruto at this – “to get a good night’s rest.  Alright?”  They both nodded, the blond more enthusiastically than the other.  “Good.  I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

            Naruto hardly slept.

            He was simultaneously excited and nervous for the next day.  The day where all his dreams could come true.  The day where he could finally say these years hadn’t been in vain.  And wouldn’t it be cool, he wondered as he tossed and turned, if Sasuke and him ended up in the same pro team?

            He was actually surprised when he woke up the next morning feeling relatively rested.  The day passed in a blur and the next thing he was fully aware of was Sakura wishing him luck and pushing him into the locker room.  It was unreal.

            His mind cleared the moment he stepped onto the court.  Everything came sharply into focus; his senses flying back to him in an instant.

            “…ruto!   Naruto!”  He turned and saw Ino waving and smiling at him from up in the stands.  He waved back at her before turning and running out to join his team.

            “Uzumaki,” he coach said as soon as he joined the huddle, “I want you on number 5; that’s Sabaku, their star player.  Got it?”  The blond glanced over at the other team and found his opponent: a red-haired, angry looking guy who was glaring right back at him.

            “Yessir.”

            “Uchiha,” Coach turned to Sasuke.  “You’re on 15; Sabaku’s brother.  Any questions?”

            “No, sir.”  The raven was emotionless as always.

            Naruto took that as his cue to be captain.  “Alright ladies,” he grinned around at all of them.  “This is just another game.  So let’s go kick some Samurai ass!  On three: one, two, three –“

            “Ninjas!”

            The game was on, starting off on a good foot as Naruto out jumped Sabaku, tilting the ball over his shoulder to Kiba.  The brunet ran across the court, only to get it stolen out from under him by one of the Sand’s players.  Naruto knew he should be keeping an eye on the redhead as ordered, but the guy was dribbling right past him.  He stole the ball back, running toward their basket with the crowd’s cheers urging him forward.  Sabaku was in his way; the blond faked, spinning around him before passing the ball to Sasuke, who made a perfect three-point shot.

            The crowd went wild; Konoha had scored the first shot, leading 3:0.

            The rest of the game wasn’t quite as easy.  Naruto had to admit that the Samurai were a _good_ team, especially the Sabakus.  They were a well-oiled machine, who were somehow always able to find openings for each other.

            But Naruto wasn’t going to just lie down and take it.  He and Sasuke matched the brothers shot for shot; the rest of the Ninjas matching the Samurais evenly.  It was the best game they’d ever played.

            Hell, Naruto noted as he sunk another perfect shot, this was the best _he’d_ ever played.  By halftime, they were leading 42:38, and he’d scored almost half those points alone.  “Get some water, boys,” the coach ordered as they arrived back at the bench.  Naruto gladly grabbed a bottle, drinking some and pouring more onto his head.  He was hot and sweaty and sticky and dammit the water felt _good_ even if it dripped all over the floor.

            “Take a breather.  Don’t drop the ball in the second half.”  Naruto was sure Coach would have more to say, but he saw Sakura and her new boyfriend hanging over the railing, waving at him.

            “Hey!”  He grinned, jogging over.  “You guys enjoying the game so far?”

            Sakura smiled back.  “You’re playing really well Naruto.  Better than I’ve ever seen.”

            “Thanks.”  He took another drink from his water bottle.

            “Your youthfulness is most inspiring, Naruto!  My mentor, Gai, would be very impressed with you indeed!”

            Naruto almost choked on his water.  “Uh, thanks I guess.  You must be Lee.  I would shake your hand but…”  He gestured to the railing above him.

            The strange guy with bushy eyebrows nodded.  “Yes, of course!  You must not strain yourself before you resume playing!” 

            Naruto shot a questioning look to Sakura, who just shrugged.  “He’s like that.”

            A whistle from behind him, alerted the blond that halftime was over.  “Well you guys enjoy; I’m gonna head back.”

            “Good luck Naruto!”  Sakura yelled to his retreating back.

            The second half was tougher than the first; the Samurais had come back with a vengeance, and it was all Naruto could do to hang on.  Sabaku was stealing the ball from him like it was his job, and even Sasuke looked a little tired.  They managed to hold on till the end, but they were 3 points behind with only 30 seconds to go.

            It was now or never.

            With a burst of speed, Naruto stole the ball from Samurai number 17, passing it off to Sasuke when Sabaku got too close.  He came to a screeching stop just short of the 3 point line, watching as the brothers surrounded Sasuke, trying to cut him off from making the winning shot, leaving him wide open.

            “Sasuke!”  The raven twisted, tossing Naruto the ball as soon as they made eye contact.  Naruto caught it, shooting it at the basket and praying to all the gods in the sky that _just this once_ he could make a 3 pointer at this angle.

            Just like a movie, the ball swished in.  Nothing but net.  The buzzer went off as the Konoha side screamed.

            “Overtime!”  Kiba yelled, jumping practically on top of him.  “Fuck yeah, Naruto!”

            The Ninjas always played better in overtime, and this time was no exception.  They hardly let the Samurais touch the ball, and it all ended when Naruto passed the ball to Sasuke, who tipped it flawlessly into the basket.  It was the perfect game for a scout to be at, if Naruto could say himself.

            And so it was with a grin that the blond greeted the long-haired, pale man.  He extended his hand in greeting.  “Hello sir.  I’m Naruto Uzumaki, co-captain of the Konoha Ninjas.”  The man glanced down at his hand but didn’t shake it.  Naruto dropped his arm to his side, realising just how sweaty it probably was.

            “Nice to meet you.  I’m Orochimaru Sannin, recruiter for the Snakes.  I’m sure you’ve heard of us.”

            “Of course!”  The Snakes were always one of the top ranked teams on the professional stage.  Everyone knew who they were.  “It’s an honour sir!”

            Orochimaru held a smirk on his lips as he responded.  “Yes it is.”  Naruto frowned at the cocky tone.  “I was wondering if I could speak with your co-captain.”

            “Sasuke?”  Of course; Coach had said the recruiter was looking at both of them.  “I’m sure he’ll be over in a sec.  I think Coach was talking to him.”

            “Ah, yes.  _Sasuke_.”  He bit his lip to stop from saying anything, but Naruto _really_ didn’t like how the man said Sasuke’s name.  He glanced over his shoulder and saw the raven approaching them.  Just in time, too.  This was a little awkward.

            The raven stepped forward.  “Sasuke Uchiha.  I heard you wanted to speak with us.”

            Orochimaru licked his lips, and Naruto’s stomach churned in disgust.  “Well, mostly just _you_ to be honest.”  The blond started.  What?  “I’m _so_ sorry, Uzumaki, but do you mind?”  The oily man turned back to Naruto, giving him a clear dismissal.

            Blood was rushing through the blond’s ears.  “No,” he heard himself respond.  “Go ahead.”  He just kept staring at the ground in shock.

            “Earth to Naruto!”  Kiba’s voice jerked him out of his trance, and he blinked up at the brunet.  “Dude, are you even there?”

            “Yeah…I’m here.”  His voice sounded distant in his ears.  How long had he even been standing there?

            Kiba clapped him on the back.  “We’re all headed out to get a drink and celebrate.  Let’s go!”

            Naruto shook his head.

            “Aw come on, man.  I saw you talking to the scout!  You’re going pro, Naruto!  Let’s _celebrate_!”

            He just shoved Kiba off, walking back to the locker room in a haze.  “I didn’t talk to him.”

            “Uh…yes you did.”  The brunet caught up to him, persistently ruffling his hair as they reached Naruto’s locker.  “I saw you.”

            The haze cleared, leaving Naruto in anger.  “No!”  He slammed his locker open.  “He didn’t want to talk to me; he just wanted to talk to _Sasuke_!”  Kiba looked fully taken aback by now.  “I don’t want to come out and ‘celebrate’ an offer I didn’t get, and I don’t want to hear about it anymore!  Just get out of my face!”  He slammed it shut, bag in hand and stalked out, not needing to turn around to see that Kiba wasn’t following him.

            An hour later found Ino sitting on his couch, trying in vain to comfort him.  All she’d managed to do was convince him to shower, so now, rather than being sweaty and angry, he was clean and angry.

            “I mean did he not see the whole game?”  Naruto was saying.  “I played just as well if Sasuke.  Hell, he wouldn’t have even _gotten_ the winning shot if I hadn’t tied it up earlier!”

            Ino patted the seat next to her, but Naruto ignored it, choosing instead to continue his pacing.  “Naruto I’m sure it’s nothing.  There are plenty of other pro teams out there who want you.”

            “Tch.”  He wasn’t convinced.

            “Besides.  It’s not like it’s Sasuke’s fault, really.  You shouldn’t be so harsh on him.”  Wrong thing to say.

            “Fuck!  It’s always Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, isn’t it?!  I heard it from Sakura all high school; I heard it from you when you first met him!  All our teachers _and_ coaches love him.  ‘Sasuke’s on the basketball team _and_ the football team, and he still gets good grades.  Why can’t you be more like _him_?’!”  He practically screamed the last word.

            Ino was just staring at him, mouth agape.

            He plowed on.  “And that’s another thing!  Why am I even being compared to that dark-haired bastard?!  So what if we’re both captains?!  We’re not even in the same major now!  But it’s always ‘no I’d rather date Sasuke; he’s so dreamy’!  The fuck?!  I’m sick of it!  He didn’t do anything to deserve talking to that recruiter over me!”  He kicked the couch in frustration, succeeding in stubbing his big toe.  “Fuck!”

            Ino finally intervened.  “Naruto…”

            But she didn’t need to say anything further, as a soft “hn” came from somewhere behind him.  Naruto spun around, to see Sasuke standing in the entrance, holding the front door open.  How long had he been standing there?

            “Oh hell no!  Get out of my apartment, bastard!”  The blond yelled, fists clenched at his sides preventing him from running over and strangling the raven.

            Dark grey eyes met blue ones, betraying no emotions.  “No.”  Restraining himself became difficult, and Naruto took a step forward.

            “That wasn’t a _request_ , Uchiha.”  His voice dropped to a low growl, and Ino gasped behind him.

            But where she was scared, the raven wasn’t.  He stepped forward as well, letting the door swing shut behind him.  “I drove all this way to talk to you.  I’m not just going to leave.”  Despite all the tension clearly emanating from the blond, Sasuke didn’t sound – or look – phased at all, instead keeping his same, damn, frustrating bored tone.

            “Naruto.”  He turned his head to the right, wondering how Ino had gotten there so fast.  He hadn’t even realized he’d taken another step forward until he felt the hand on his inner elbow.  “I’m gonna go.”  She shot a look at the raven, who didn’t change his bored expression before turning back toward Naruto, dropping her voice.  “Talk to him.”  With a squeeze of his arm, she walked away, nodding once to the still stoic raven before disappearing out the door.

            He waited until the door swung shut once more before turning his glare back to Sasuke.  “What do you want, Uchiha?”

            The raven took a few steps into the kitchen, leaning on the counter before responding.  “I already said what I wanted.”

            “To talk, right?”  A barely perceivable nod.  “Bullshit.”

            “Hardly.”

            “We both know you hate talking, so that in and of itself is enough for me to call bullshit on you.”

            If he didn’t know better, Naruto would’ve sworn he saw the raven sigh.

            He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall opposite Sasuke.  “Ok let’s say for some insane reason you do want to ‘talk’” – he unfolded his hands to use air quotes, before returning them – “what would the great Sasuke Uchiha want to talk to me about?”

            “I ran into Kiba on his way out of the locker room.  I know you’re mad about the recruiter, so I just wanted to ease the tension since we still have to play together.”

            “Damn straight I’m mad about the recruiter!  I played just as well as you –“  He pushed himself off the wall, using his hands to emphasize his point, just as he was rudely interrupted.

            Sasuke held up a hand.  “Let me finish.”  Naruto grumbled, returning to his earlier position against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.  “I want you to know I turned him down so I can go to law school.  I’m sure he’ll come talk to you now.”

            The blond’s jaw dropped, the silence spreading between them.  He knew Sasuke was a bastard, but this…  “You think I wanna be your sloppy seconds?”  He managed after a moment, amazed at how calm his voice sounded.

            The raven’s eyes widened.  “No, I didn’t mean…”

            “Of course you didn’t.  After all, how could I complain after you so graciously declined on my behalf?”  He was getting worked up again.

            The other’s eyes narrowed again.  “I didn’t decline on your behalf, idiot.  I declined so I could go to law school.”

            Naruto laughed, but it sounded wrong even in his ears.  “Oh right!  Of course!  You declined so you can go to law school!  How could I forget?  You had to mention that to point out the fact I’m practically failing half of my classes this semester, didn’t you?  After all the great Sasuke Uchiha is good at everything he does.  Meanwhile, I’m just Naruto the _idiot._ ”  He hadn’t realized he’d been moving, until he and Sasuke were much closer than they had been moments before.

            “Stop twisting my words.”  Sasuke was stepping forward too; he could feel the raven’s words on his face.

            “I’m not twisting anything.”

            And this is where it would happen.  Sasuke would grab his collar, losing his cool and shouting that Naruto was wrong, that of course he hadn’t meant it that way; he was just trying to be nice.  Then the raven would smash their lips together in that hungry, desperate way Naruto was so used to.  Their teeth would clash, and it would be rough and painful at first while each of them bit at each other, trying to get their frustration and anger out in the only way they knew.  And Sasuke would force his tongue past Naruto’s lips, yanking the blond’s hair so he’d gasp, before separating them and pulling Naruto’s head to one side, so he could suck on the pulse point between his neck and shoulder…

            But the raven wasn’t doing anything.  He was just standing there glaring at Naruto, hands twitching by his side as if he’d been thinking the same thing.  He took a deep breath, blowing the scent that was purely Sasuke on the blond, before responding calmly.  “Yes you are.  I want us to be able to deal with each other, at least until the end of the season –“

            Naruto had had enough.  Tired of waiting for the raven to make the first move, he gathered the other’s collar in his fists, smashing their lips together the way he’d imagined moments before.  Their teeth crashed, and the blond bit sharply down on Sasuke’s bottom lip, tasting the sharp iron of blood – though he wasn’t sure whose it was.  The raven gasped and pushed Naruto away.

            “No.”  For the first time that night, emotion seeped into his voice.  Sasuke seemed to notice that as well, because the next time he spoke, it was back to its normal tone.  “Stop.”

            What?  Why was he stopping?  Fighting and then getting each other off was their _thing_.  Didn’t he realize that?  “Sasuke?”

            Grey eyes snapped up and met blue, anger shining in their depths.  “I said no.  We’re not doing this anymore.”

            “What?”

            “I’m done being some convenient outlet for you, Uzumaki.”  The way the raven said his name sent a dark shiver of foreboding down Naruto’s spine.  This was not how the night was supposed to go.  “I’m tired of never resolving anything and just using sex as substitute.”

            “We haven’t even had sex,” Naruto found himself arguing weakly.

            Something that could’ve been irritation flashed through the anger in the grey.  “It has the same result, really.”  The blond found he couldn’t argue with that logic.  Sasuke turned and yanked the door open.

            “Where are you going?”  It was a stupid question, he knew.  Sasuke was leaving.  It didn’t really matter where he was leaving to.  And Sasuke said so.

            “Does it matter?”  Then he was gone, a slammed door the only sign he’d been there in the first place.


	10. Rock Bottom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto hits rock bottom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: homophobia and associated slurs. Violence. Alcohol abuse.
> 
> Note: I do not condone drinking to change your mood. That's a dangerous path to go down.

 

            Being rejected by the first recruiter had shattered Naruto’s confidence.  He’d asked Coach the next day if he knew of any other teams that were interested in him, and the answer hadn’t been promising.  Naruto stayed for practice after that, but he didn’t play with any of the fire he normally had, going through the motions mindlessly.  He left right after, ignoring Kiba’s insistence that they should go home together.

            Naruto thought that maybe throwing himself into schoolwork would take his mind away from the dangerous thoughts like ‘I’m never going to go pro anyway so why does it matter?’  But one look at his calculus homework – why did business majors need to take calc anyway?  That was the _real_ question here – burned that thought to the ground.

            And he knew – oh yes he knew – that this train of thought was _dangerous_.  But he couldn’t escape it; like a bad dream.  He thought about going over to hang out with Ino and Chouji for a bit, but scratched that immediately after remembering what an ass he’d made of himself the last time he’d seen her.  He thought about texting Sasuke and apologizing – it wasn’t his fault everyone loved him better, it really wasn’t – but even the mere _thought_ of the raven made him angry.  Instead, he spent his free time sitting on his couch, staring at the ground and berating himself for every stupid decision he’d made in the past three months.

            After a few days of this, Kiba finally approached him.  “You gotta snap out of it, dude,” he said by way of greeting.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Naruto mumbled tonelessly, staring at the carpet instead of looking up.

            Kiba sighed and sunk down on the couch next to him.  “Look we can all see it.  You’re upset about Sasuke and the scout; I get it.  But seriously, Coach is talking about pulling you from the next game if you can’t get your shit together.”

            “Whatever.”  It didn’t matter anyway; it wasn’t like anyone was coming to watch him.

            “Alright.  I wasn’t gonna do this, but we have to cheer you up.”  Kiba stood, grabbing Naruto’s arm.  “Get up.”

            The blond stared at his arm for a few moments before glaring up at his roommate.  “Let go.”

            “No.  We’re gonna cheer you up.”

            “How are you planning to do that?”  Not that he cared or wanted any part of it.

            The brunet shrugged.  “Well, it’s Thursday.  The bars are packed full of hot chicks who would love to go on a date with a basketball star.  You’re always going on about wanting a girlfriend; maybe you’ll find her tonight.”

            “When was the last time I talked about wanting a girlfriend?”

            “I don’t know.  A few weeks ago.”  Kiba growled in frustration.  “That’s not the point, man!  You need to get out of this apartment.  Now are you coming or not?”  Kiba was glaring down at him, clearly prepared to drag him along whether Naruto wanted to go or not.

            He didn’t really want to, but then again, alcohol sounded like a great way to forget all about that stupid raven haired bastard and his stupid ability to get everyone to fall head over heels for him.

            Half an hour later, the two were inside the Akatsuki.  Kiba was right; it was completely packed.  Thursdays always attracted larger crowds; there was a reason it was called Thirsty Thursday after all.  The bar was filled with people, some without classes on Friday and got to start the weekend early, others who were fed up with the week and wanted to pretend they were in the first group.  The brunet pointed out a group of girls, but Naruto wasn’t interested.  It wasn’t that they were ugly – he couldn’t really tell from this angle, but they didn’t look bad – it was more that he just…wasn’t interested.  They found some open stools at the bar and took over, ordering a couple of beers.

            Kiba tried to spur conversation between them, small stuff about Hinata and their classes.  The weather.  Naruto responded by grunting and taking large sips of his beer.  Agreeing to come tonight had been a bad idea.  His roommate continued floundering through their first two drinks, before finally bringing them back to why they were here in the first place.  The blond was already on his third.

            “Come on, Naruto.  Cheer up!  We won against the team ranked higher than us because of _you_ putting us at number four in the country.  Number four man!  That’s huge!  _And_ you’re captain!  Scouts are gonna be lining up just to see you play.”

            “Co-captain, Kiba.  And no they’re not.  No one else has contacted Coach.”

            The brunet sighed, before slapping him on the back, false cheer injected into his voice.  “Naruto, be reasonable.  It’s not like they’re the _only_ team who’s gonna be interested in scouting you out.  You’re one of the top ranked players in the country, man!  Have some faith!”

            The blond pushed his beer around, not liking the topic of conversation his best friend had chosen.  “Coach said he hadn’t heard from anyone else yet.”  He took a long drink.  Beer number three was going to be over quick.

            Kiba wagged his finger in the blond’s face.  “You know most of them don’t show up till around the championships anyway.  That other guy was _early_.  Plus, we’re lined up for March Madness _and_ predicted to do well as long as you get your head out of your ass.”

            He grumbled.  Kiba had a point there.  But still.  “It doesn’t matter.  That bastard and I aren’t even playing as well during practices as we were before.”

            “Yeah, well, it probably has something to do with the way you yelled at him when he tried talking to you.”  Naruto stared at him incredulously.  “What?  Ino told me.”

            He downed the rest of his drink and called out for another.  “Dammit.  She can’t keep anything a secret.”

            “Well she didn’t tell me why he was at our apartment when it all went down.  Why _was_ he there, anyway?”

            Naruto shrugged, pushing the cash to the bartender.  “Said he wanted to talk.”

            “That anti-social bastard?”  Kiba snorted.  “Talk about what?  The recruiter?  It’s not like he owes you an explanation.  And the way you two are, it would make more sense for him to want to gloat.  Whoa, whoa, whoa!   Naruto slow down!”  While Kiba had been rambling, he’d downed his next glass and was already reaching for Kiba’s. 

            He glared when the brunet slapped his hand away.  “I can handle myself.”  He flagged down the nearest bartender, pointing at his empty glass.  If they were going to sit here and talk about this, the least he could do is get himself well-and-truly plastered.

            “I’ve seen you drunk before, man, and let me tell you: you can _not_ ‘handle’ yourself.”

            “I’m not a baby Kiba.”

            “Jesus, Naruto.  How many have you had anyway?  I brought you out to cheer you up, not so you can drown yourself in alcohol.”

            “Is there a difference?”

            Kiba stood, staring down at him incredulously.  “Uh yeah.  Of course there is.  Ugh.”  He drew one hand over his face.  “This was a bad idea.  Ok!”  He grabbed hold of one of Naruto’s arms.  “We are getting you home.  Now.”

            Naruto didn’t move.  “Don’t wanna.”

            “Your words are starting to slur.  You’re drunk, the bartender is clearly too busy to see otherwise, and we have _class_ in the morning in case you forgot.”

            He jerked his arm out of Kiba’s hold, instead returning to his drink.  “Failing anyway.  Doesn’t matter.”

            “You’re failing Marketing?”

            Naruto thought about that one a second.  They had Marketing in the morning?  Oh, right.  Tomorrow was Friday.  “I guess not.  Forgot what day it was.”

            “That’s because you’re _drunk_.  Come _on_ , Naruto.”  And with one great heave, Kiba pulled Naruto out of the bar stool.  The blond shoved his hand off.

            “I’m not going.”

            “Yes you are.  The bar was a bad idea.  I get that now, so can we just leave?  Please?”

            Naruto turned back around to the bar, ignoring his best friend and roommate.  He heard the other kick a chair in exasperation.  “Fine,” Kiba said.  “Stay here and do whatever you want.  I’m going to Hinata’s.  Try not to drown in all this self-pity.”  Naruto didn’t have to turn to know the brunet had left.  He glared down at his glass, wondering how many more friendships he was going to fuck up because of that stupid scout.

            It was maybe an hour or less later – he’d lost track of time, for all he knew it was 30 seconds – that the blond realised Kiba was right: he’d definitely had too much to drink.  Naruto stumbled his way toward the bathroom, his surroundings shifting and tilting around him.  When he opened the door, though, he found himself standing in that same back alley where he and Sasuke had first kissed.  He shrugged, wandering over to the dumpsters to relieve himself.  It wasn’t like he was going to sink much lower tonight anyway.

            He zipped up his pants, stumbling back toward the door, only to find someone standing in front of it, blocking his way.  Naruto squinted, tilting his head.  They had long, blond hair held up in a ponytail – though it was shorter than Ino’s – with some bangs hanging down covering one eye.  But it wasn’t the hair or the eye that made Naruto stare.

            “’R you a man or a wo-man?”  He asked before he could stop himself.

            “Oh fuck you!”  A decidedly male voice came out of the person’s throat.  Well that answered _that_ question.  “Oy!  Hidan!  This is the guy, right?  Don’t tell me I was tailing him all night for nothing.”

            Naruto turned around to see where the guy – sounded like a guy – was looking.  Four figures walked out of the shadows, blurring together and apart.  They merged together, revealing two different men; one with short grey hair, and the other was large and had his face mostly covered by a handkerchief.  The grey one spoke first.  “Yeah, that’s the one.  Bring him over here.”

            Two hands grabbed him and pushed him back into the alley, away from the dumpsters and away from the light.  “Get yer hands ‘ff!”  He shoved himself away from the blond one, stumbling a few steps.  Fuck.  He’d had way too much to drink to be in a fight right now.  He should call Kiba, get some backup.  …Where was his phone anyway?

            “Feisty little cock-sucker, aren’t you?”   The grey one – Heetan, right? – approached.  “And here we thought you might _like_ being manhandled by a few bigger men.  Or maybe you just like that pussy little fag boyfriend of yours?”

            Fag boyfriend?  What?

            “Th’ fuck yu talkin’ ‘bout?”  He slurred, squinting and trying to force the six figures back down to two.

            The first guy chuckled.  “Looks like your boy’s got memory problems.  Maybe we should jar his memory.”

            “Kakuzu, grab him.”

            Before Naruto could do much of anything – downside of having no motor control right now – the big guy grabbed him.  Naruto thrashed, kicking and swinging, trying to get out of the other’s grasp, but the man was basically a wall.  Unmoving.  Nothing Naruto did gave him any leeway.

            A fist flew into his stomach, winding him, and his motions froze.  The grey guy’s face swum into view.  “Caught you here a few weeks ago getting finger fucked by some other fag.  Guess you’re a whore too.”

            Naruto’s head felt heavy, his mind swirling to make sense of the words.  Oh right.  He and Sasuke had been back here, letting off steam one night.  Shit.  Someone had seen that?

            “Not m’ boy,” was as coherent as he got.  Another fist slammed into his stomach and he slumped over.  The wall-man’s grip loosened, and Naruto had enough sense of self to twist completely out of his grasp.  He wasn’t going to go down without a fight back here.  He swung his fist, aiming for the talking man’s head, meeting nothing but air.  His body fell forward, following through with the punch only to be stopped by the grey man’s knee in his chest.

            With an oomph, Naruto fell to the ground.  The blond guy’s face appeared, doubling up.  “So you just come out here and let any guy fuck you, is that it?”  He spat on the ground.  “Makes me sick.”

            There was a sharp tug on Naruto’s hair as he was pulled up to his knees.  “C’ward.”  Alarm bells were ringing in his head.  If anyone caught him like this he’d be kicked off the team.  He needed to get out of here.  He glanced around the spinning alley, trying to remember the exit.  Maybe if he could knock them off balance he could make a run for it.

            A foot flew into his stomach, dispersing all thoughts.  “Don’t talk to Hidan that way you fucking ass-licker!”  

            “Easy, Dei.  I got this.  Go stand watch by the door.”  Footsteps faded away, leaving Naruto with just the four guys.  Two?  “I admire the kid’s tenacity, but he’s still so young.  Pick him back up.”

            Another tug, and he was pulled upright again.  His stomach lurched.  If he got hit there again, he would probably vomit all over the place.

            “Do you really think I waited all night for you to get yourself wasted so I could see who survives a _real_ fight?”  Two men, both identically grey, crouched before him, gripping Naruto’s chin in his hand.  “Not a chance.”

            “Hnn.”  Naruto let out a wheeze that reminded him too much of Sasuke.  He wished the raven was here.

            Grey man turned around.  “Oh don’t worry.  We aren’t gonna have you suck our cocks or anything.  We wouldn’t give you the pleasure.”  His voice lowered to a more deadly tone.  “We’re just gonna have a little fun.”  The statement was accompanied by a punch straight to Naruto’s face.  His vision went temporarily white, accompanied by a ringing to his ears.  Even numb as he was from the drink, that still hurt.  When his sight returned, he found himself staring at the ground, asphalt appearing and blurring in front of him.  He reached forward, hands slamming to the ground sooner than he’d expected.  A rock dug into his palm, and he wrapped his fist around it, grabbing some dirt at the same time.  He flung it blindly, a groan the only evidence that it hit anything.

            Naruto slammed his elbow back into the larger man’s crotch, the grip loosening on his hair.  For the second time that night, he wriggled himself free, only losing a few hairs in the process.  He stumbled upright only to have his collar grabbed once more.  Fuck.

            It was the grey man, nose bleeding freely, who slammed Naruto back against the wall and used his free hand to punch him in the chest at the same time.  A spike of pain jolted through Naruto’s chest, and he felt a sickening crunch.

            He brought his fist up weakly in response, trying to fight down the bile in his throat, but the grey man just grabbed it and slammed it above his head.  Naruto cried out as his shoulder burned in protest.  It hurt.  _Fuck_ , it hurt.

            “You like that, don’t you fag?”  The words were accompanied by a twist of his wrist that was just short of breaking the bone.  The haze from the drinks weren’t enough to dull the pain anymore, and Naruto whimpered.  “Kazuku, the knife.  This cocksucker is going to _pay_ for my nose.”

            Naruto thrashed upon hearing it, swinging his free arm and kicking out with his legs.  The grey man was stronger or Naruto was still too drunk, because the hold didn’t waver.  He felt something snap in his wrist.

            “Hurry it up,” he directed to the larger man.  “I don’t want to breathe any more of this fucker’s air then I have to.”  Naruto struggled harder.  He had to get out of this mess.  He had to –

Sirens.  Oh yes, oh _fuck_ yes.

            “Yo Hidan!  We got a problem!”  The blond guy Naruto had forgotten about was sprinting towards them.

            “Yeah we heard it!”  The man holding him let go after one more squeeze to his wrist.  “You were lucky.  Next time you won’t be.”  He growled and the three of them sprinted off in the other direction.

            Naruto slumped over, his whole body already aching.  He had to get out of this alley.  Naruto took a step forward and gasped as pain spiked up and down his leg.  Fuck, his ankle wasn’t holding his weight.

_Oh fuck, oh fuck, **oh fuck** ; please say this doesn’t mean I can’t play basketball anymore…_

            Leaning heavily on the wall, he limped toward the entry of the alley, other pains slowly making themselves known.  His wrist was throbbing where he’d felt it snap earlier, and his ribs felt like they were poking into his lungs because each breath he took _hurt_.

            The wall led him to the entry of the alley, and he blinked at the sudden brightness from the street lights.  Naruto took a few more steps, blinking around at his surroundings.  Nothing much made sense; he thought there were three cop cars parked over between the three short ginger girls.  Triplets.

            He sunk to the ground, leaning his head against the wall next to him.  Fuck, he was tired.  A shadow blocked his vision, and Naruto looked up, a familiar pale face swimming into view.

            “Sas…ke…?”  He managed before the darkness overcame his vision, knocking him out.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fight (and entire chapter really) has been heavily edited since it was originally posted on ff. I felt it was weird to have him be too drunk to see his surroundings, then suddenly coherent. As a result, this one feels much more brutal...


	11. Sasuke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA: the chapter you've been waiting for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went through heavier edits than any of the other ones so far. If you read the original, it has changed a bit. Enjoy.

            If Sasuke were asked the pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with Naruto, he would flat out ignore whoever was asking.  But he would think about it.  And Sasuke would conclude that he didn’t know _when_ he fell in love with Naruto.  But he did remember when he figured out he was.

            The first time he’d met the blond, he’d thought the guy was a loud-mouthed, rude, annoying, cocky, idiotic _loser_.  They’d butted heads almost instantly, and Sasuke was positive they’d never get along.  He was so disappointed to find out Naruto was into all the same sports he was.  And not only that, but the blond was _good_ at them.  Really good.  Good enough they often competed for or shared the duties of being captain.

            And it was irritating, really, how often they were around each other because of it.  Sasuke started to learn – unintentionally – all of Naruto’s likes and dislikes, hobbies… He actually got to know the blond’s friends because of it, though it was done begrudginly.  And they started to tolerate him in response.  One in particular, the pink-haired girl who Naruto had an obviously massive crush on, seemed strangely interested in him.  She would follow him around even when the blond wasn’t there and ask him questions about himself that all inevitably led to “oh Sasuke, you’re so funny!  Why don’t you have a girlfriend again?”  And then she’d bat her eyes at him until he finally left.  Yet still, Naruto would hang all over her, asking her out and giving her flowers, grinning wide every time she inevitably rejected him.

            It wasn’t until college that he realised he was bothered with all the attention Naruto gave Sakura for more than just that being around them in general annoyed him.  By their sophomore year, he’d decided it was jealousy; he was jealous of Naruto and how much Sakura put up with him.  Or at least, that was what he’d decided it was.  Why else would be so bothered by the two of them talking all the time?

            He had thought it was strange that he would be attracted to her.  When they’d first met their freshman year of high school – not long after he’d first met Naruto – she’d been obnoxious, clingy, and stupid.  Somewhere along the line, though, she’d grown up.  By the time he’d decided he was attracted to her, she’d calmed down, and he was able to see her as something more.  So he asked her out.

            Despite the loud protests from Naruto that he’d be nothing but a cold, passive boyfriend he’d done his best.  He’d made an effort to find out what she liked and take her out on dates she’d considered romantic.  He’d wanted to prove the blond wrong, that he could be a good boyfriend – though Naruto was obviously jealous, his friendship with Sakura never swayed annoyingly – and he’d done everything he could to make it the ‘perfect’ relationship despite being unable to change his personality completely.

            But months into dating her, nothing had changed; his feelings for her never went past the ‘she’s a little cute when she’s not clinging onto me’ phase.  Sakura, however, would say things about how much she’d missed him each day, and how she could see a future with him.  He’d mimic the words back to her, hoping he’d believe them eventually.  But he never did.

            The last days of their relationship were the worst.  Sakura had grown so insecure and finally ended up asking him how he felt.  How he _really_ felt.

            “I don’t know.”  It was the most honest response he had.

            She’d looked close to tears at that point, and he wished for all the world that he could say something that would make them stop.  He liked Sakura.  He just didn’t love her.  “Sasuke…every time I see you…my heart skips a beat.  I think about you all the time, even when you’re not there.  I want to be the first person you see every morning and the last person you see every night.  Are you really telling me you don’t feel the same?”

            He didn’t.

            “Do you feel like that about someone else?”  She was always worried there was someone else.  It was one of the things she’d become so insecure about after she confessed her love for the first time.

            Sasuke thought about it, he thought hard.  Blond hair and blue eyes danced across his vision, while a laughing voice called him bastard.  And that was when he realised: there _was_ someone he thought like that about.  He didn’t shake his head fast enough.

            Sakura’s face crumpled.  “That’s called love, Sasuke.  And if you don’t feel that for me” – she took another deep breath – “then I don’t want to be together with you anymore.”

            He did nothing to stop her from leaving.

            It wasn’t until days later – when he went out to the bars to clear his head of three scars on a tan cheek – that he learned she’d told everyone he’d dumped her.  He never knew why women did what they did.  He didn’t even know she’d _be_ at the Akatsuki.

            But Sasuke had already had too much to drink by the time they made it to that bar.  And as soon as he saw Naruto, he didn’t want to leave.  He wanted to test his theory.  Was he in love with the blond?  They were both guys.  Was it even possible?

            The blond made him so angry that night, bringing up still the still sore topic of Sakura.  So he trapped Naruto against the wall and kissed him.  He’d hoped the kiss would amount to nothing; that he’d be grossed out by it and leave.  But it didn’t.  He liked it.  No.  He _loved_ it.  He wanted to feel Naruto’s lips on his all the time.

            The thought scared the shit out of him, and he’d stayed away from the blond the entire summer.  He’d been feeling pretty good about himself when school started.  His ‘Naruto-thoughts’ only happened a few times a day now, rather than being the constant thrum they were before.  That all ended when he saw the other walking home in the rain.

            He couldn’t help himself.

            And then he’d had to take the drunk – well, hung-over – idiot his backpack.  He couldn’t resist that time either.

            And god, it didn’t make him any better when Naruto was the one initiating it either.  In fact, it made it worse.  He felt himself falling deeper in love with the blond idiot every time they saw each other.

            So he knew it was a bad idea when the idea of being sex friends came up.

            Oh god, it was _such_ a bad idea.  It was a stupid, mindless, idiotic –

He was opening himself up to being hurt – seriously hurt – by Naruto.  But then again, he could at least pretend he had the blond for a little.  And Sasuke knew it was just pretend.  He knew, he knew, _he knew_.  It was something he told himself every morning before he got up for the day and every night before he fell asleep.

            _It’s just temporary.  He has no feelings for you and he never will_.

            But it was so hard to not at least _pretend_ Naruto felt something for him.  Especially when the blond got on his knees for Sasuke.  Willingly.

            It was all he could do to keep himself from slamming Naruto against the bleachers every practice and show everyone – the team, the world – that the blond was _his_.  He didn’t trust himself anymore, using hns and smirks instead of saying anything, because what if he spilled?  What if he said something?  What if, what if –

            That was when he knew: he would do anything, give anything, if it meant he could be with Naruto.  Even if only for a little.  Hell, he would even _bottom_ if that meant there was a chance Naruto would fall in love with him one day.

            It was just something small for him to tell the recruiter that the blond was the better choice.  He never thought it would blow up in his face.

            But even if he’d known it would end like this, he still wouldn’t take it back.

            Sasuke was awoken late one Thursday night by the constant ringing of his cell phone.  One look at the screen revealed it was Kiba.  He glanced at his clock.  1:30 am.  “This better be good, Inuzuka,” he said as his greeting.

            “Sasuke?  Oh thank god.  I called you five times!”

            There were loud noises in the background.  It sounded like Kiba was near a bar.  “Are you drunk?  I don’t have time for this.”

“No, I’m not.”  The noises faded; Kiba must’ve moved away from the entrance.  “Listen I know you and Naruto got into a fight about that NBA scout or whatever, but he’s a mess.  I was hoping you’d be able to talk some sense into him.”

            A pang of worry hit him, not quite strong enough to move his heart.  “You’re his best friend.  Isn’t that your job?”

            “He’s not listening to me.  I think it’s better if it comes from you, ok?”  A honk sounded on the other side of the phone.  “Anyway, that’s my ride.  Please check on him, ok?  He’s at the Akatsuki.”  The phone went dead.

            Sasuke was not, under any condition, going to check on Naruto.  There was no way.  They had nothing tying them together anymore.  Besides, hadn’t Sasuke dealt with enough heartbreak already?

            Ten minutes later, Sasuke found himself standing in front of the Akatsuki.  It was near last call, and the blond was bound to appear eventually if he were even still inside.  He mentally kicked himself for what a stupid idea this was as people – no one he recognised – trickled out of the bar.  Just then, a short ginger girl ran up to him, a concerned look on her face.

            “I’m sorry, but you look more sober than anyone else around here,” she breathed as she clutched onto him for support.  “There’s a guy getting beat up in the alley over there.  I called 911 already, but I’m too scared to go in and break it up.  I think they’re trying to kill him…”  She trailed off as he walked away, a pit of worry steadily growing in his stomach.

            The alley was dark, as it always was, but from inside he heard grunts and the sound of punches hitting their marks.  He moved closer, his mind separating from his body as the thought _please don’t be Naruto, please don’t be Naruto_ repeated like a mantra in his head.  Sirens sounded behind him, but he didn’t turn.  The sound seemed to scare away the assaulters, because he heard shouts and then the sound of shoes hitting pavement in a run.

            He hovered just at the entrance, not sure if he should let the police handle it or not.  Moments later, a figure limped out of the darkness towards him, and he paused.  He couldn’t tell who it was, not until they were in the light.

            Then the person stepped out of the shadows and Sasuke’s heart stopped.

            Naruto was covered in bruises and there was blood dripping down from his hairline.  He was holding his right arm against his chest, and his left ankle was twisted funny as he walked.  Sasuke didn’t even realise he’d been running towards Naruto until the blond collapsed into his arms.

            “Sas…ke…?”  Naruto asked in a voice barely above a whisper, before his body went limp in Sasuke’s arms.

            An EMT rushed over.  “Is he the one the call was about?  What’s his name?”

            “Naruto.”   Sasuke’s voice came from a far distance in his own ears.

            Another one arrived, bed at the ready.  “I need you to set him here, ok?”  He obeyed, not aware of what he was doing.  “What’s your name?”

            “Sasuke.”

            “Ok, Sasuke.  Are you a friend?  Family?”

            He thought a second.  “…Co-captain.”

            Either they misunderstood what he meant or were able to see the blind panic written all over his face, because they let him ride in the back of the ambulance with Naruto.  Sasuke stared blankly at the blond’s face while they checked his heartbeat and felt for breaks – thank god he didn’t need a respirator or IV – muttering the whole time about how he might have internal bleeding or other ominous sounding things.  They asked Sasuke questions sometimes, about how much Naruto had to drink, or if they knew who did this to him.  He just kept shaking his head and responding with “I don’t know.”  Useless.

            Then they made him sit in the waiting room while they ran tests – X rays and MRIs and god knows what else – to make sure there was nothing else wrong with him.  It was hours later that a nurse finally came in calling “Mr. Sasuke?  Is there a Mr. Sasuke in here?”  He stood.  “Follow me, sir.”

            She took him down hallway after hallway, maybe up an elevator he wasn’t sure, and they finally came to a stop outside a door.  “He’s inside,” she said kindly after they stood there for a few minutes.  Sasuke struggled to find his voice again.

            “Is he awake?”  He wasn’t sure which would be worse.

            “No.  Sleeping.  But he’s going to be just fine.”

            “What’s wrong with him?”  He still managed to speak with minimal emotion.

            She glanced at the clipboard in her hand.  “He has a couple broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and a small fracture one wrist.  Other than that, just a few minor bumps and bruises.  Nothing to worry about.  He’ll be out sometime tomorrow, I imagine.”  She smiled at him.  “He’ll be fine, I promise.  I have to get back to my work, if you’ll excuse me.”  And he was left to walk into the room alone.

            With that reassuring thought in mind, Sasuke pushed open the door.  Other than a heart-rate monitor beeping, there were no tubes or wires connected to him.  The raven breathed out a sigh of relief he didn’t know he was holding in.  He closed the distance between himself and the sleeping blond, pulling a chair with him, and sank into it once he was close enough to the bed.  He didn’t even think twice before grabbing the others hand and entwining their fingers together.

            When Naruto had collapsed on him…That was the most scared he’d ever been.  He’d thought –

            But he was going to be ok.  That nurse said so.  It was stupid, pointless to worry like this.  “Fuck…”  He muttered, slamming his teeth together when he realised he’d spoken out loud.  But Naruto wasn’t awake anyway; what harm would it do?  He opened his mouth again.  “You fucking scared me, idiot.  Running off, drinking.  What were you thinking?  What if –“

            He broke off.  “And anyway, you shouldn’t be so upset.  I talked to Coach earlier today, and he said another scout talked to him about coming to see you play.  Not even me.  Just you…”  Sasuke trailed off, not sure what he was trying to say anymore.

            “It hurt, you know.  When you told me to get out.  It fucking…”  This was why he never opened his mouth for more than a hn.  He sounded like a moron.

            “I’m in love with you.”  He laughed, bitter.  “Never thought I’d say it, but there we go.  And I guess, if I’m being honest, I’ve probably been in love with you from the moment we first met.”

            He squeezed Naruto’s hand.  “I’m going to leave when you wake up, ok?  And then…and then I’ll stay out of your way.  I get it.  I feel the same way about my brother.  Everyone always loves Itachi best.  He’s the smart one, the better looking one, the son dad always – “

            He stopped, bringing himself back to the present.  “Anyway.  I get it.  It hurts to be considered second best all the time.”  He looked up at Naruto’s sleeping face.  “But you’ll always be first to me.”  It was a relief, really, that the blond slept through his whole speech.  But at the same time, a small part of him wished Naruto had been awake to hear it.

* * *

 

            Sasuke must’ve dozed off some time during the night, because the next thing he was aware of was a twitching in his hand.  He opened his eyes and realised he was face down in the mattress.  With a mild groan, he sat up.  He looked around the room; nothing had changed since he’d passed out, with the exception of light shining through the window.

            The heart rate monitor’s beeping increased, and the twitching in his hand drew his attention back to the blond.  Naruto’s face was no longer as peaceful as it had been the night before.  The blond pulled his hand out of Sasuke’s grip and covered his face with it, groaning out loud.  The raven’s heart stopped.  This was it; he had to leave now.  He’d made a promise.  (Granted it was to a sleeping Naruto, but it was still a promise.)

            “Sasuke?”  All his thoughts stopped and he looked back at the now-awake Naruto.  Blue eyes were staring back at him, and any excuses he had for being in the room vanished.  Fuck.  Now what?  “Where am I?”

            “The hospital.”

            The blond blinked back at him before shooting upright.  “Oh _shit!_ ”  He yelled, collapsing back onto the pillows.  Sasuke’s hands balled into fists as he resisted the urge to call for a nurse or check on Naruto himself.  “Why the _fuck_ do I hurt so much?”  He hissed out, eyes squeezed shut.

            Sasuke struggled to maintain his bored tone of voice.  “You got in a fight outside the Akatsuki last night.”

            Naruto was breathing shallow breaths, eyes still closed.  “Come again?”

            He sighed.  Where was Kiba or Ino when he needed them?  “Apparently either you or your idiotic roommate thought it was a good idea to go drinking last night.  You ended up getting in some fight in that alley behind the bar and an _ambulance_ had to get you.”

            The blond was now staring at him, jaw hanging open incredulously.  Not that Sasuke blamed him; Naruto had probably never heard him make a speech that long before.  Finally, the blond seemed to grab a hold of himself.  “I got in a fight?”  His face dropped, his eyes widening.  “Oh.  _Oh._   I remember now.”

            “Hn.”  Sasuke didn’t trust himself to speak anymore.  Naruto was ok; there was no telling what other stupid things would spill from his mouth.

            Suddenly, Naruto’s expression turned to one of panic.  “Oh god, will I be able to play basketball again?  Oh _god_.”

            Sasuke just shrugged.  The nurse had made it seem like all Naruto’s injuries were fairly minor, but he had no idea how long it would take for them to heal.  Naruto was still mumbling to himself, no doubt stressing about basketball.  Sasuke stood up.  He didn’t need to be here anymore, and it was better to get away before Naruto’s friends or that nurse came back.

            “Where’s Kiba?  Or Ino?”  The blond finally remembered he was in the room.  The raven shrugged again.  He needed to get out of here.  Now.  It was clear that Naruto wasn’t happy that _Sasuke_ was here instead of his friends.  He walked towards the door, trying not to look like he was running away.  “Sasuke, wait.”  Damn.

            He turned around, crossing his arms in front of his chest.  Naruto seemed to be struggling for words, but he made no move to help.  “What are you doing here?”  Sasuke had no answer for that, so instead he looked to the side and gritted his teeth together.  Naruto tried again.  “How long have you been here?”  He ground his teeth harder.  He should’ve left the night before, when he had the chance.  “How did I get to the hospital?”  His willpower was fading fast; Sasuke wasn’t sure it could last much longer.  “Sasuke?  How –“

            “I love you.”  The raven cut the blond off, startling himself in the process. 

            They were now staring straight at each other, Naruto’s blue eyes wide with shock.  Sasuke wasn’t sure what look he was giving the other.  Clearly, he’d lost all self-control sometime during the night.  “What?”  The blond spoke in barely over a whisper.

            “I said I love you, Naruto.”  Sasuke was impressed with how his voice didn’t shake with the second confession.

            Naruto just stared at him, at a complete loss for words.  “Oh,” he said finally.  It was silent after that, aside from the high pitched ringing in Sasuke’s ears.  He wanted to run, to get out of the room, but his feet remained frozen to the floor.

           After what felt like forever, the door swung open and a nurse walked in.  “Good morning, dear,” she addressed Naruto.  “I’ve brought you some breakfast.”  Taking advantage of the temporary distraction, Sasuke fled out of the room before the door could close behind her.  He heard it slam shut behind him, but he never looked back.


	12. Looking Up

            After Sasuke’s shocking confession and subsequent sprint out the door – Naruto had never thought he’d see the raven sprint for anything aside basketball – people trickled in and out.  The nurse came again for lunch and Kiba showed up not long after.  The brunet had sat there quietly fidgeting for a bit before he practically screamed an apology.

            “Fuck, Naruto.  If I’d have known…”  He panicked at the floor.

            The blond promptly snapped himself out of his shock.  “It’s not your fault Kiba.  I should’ve gone with you when you told me to.”

            “No, man, you were drunk.  You weren’t in your right mind.”

            Naruto leaned over and placed his hand on Kiba’s shoulder.  “Exactly.  I was drunk.  And I should’ve listened to you.  When have you ever steered me wrong?”

            The brunet looked up at Naruto, wide eyed, before he latched his arms around the blond’s neck.  Naruto just patted his back awkwardly, not sure how else to comfort him.  “Now it’s all my fault if you can’t play basketball…”  Kiba mumbled unhappily into Naruto’s hospital gown.

            The blond pulled his friend off.  “No way, Kiba.  This was definitely my fault, not yours.  Like I said, I was drunk.  I shouldn’t have had that much to drink anyway.”

            Kiba didn’t really seem to buy it, but he didn’t push his guilt any more than that.  “So…basketball?”

            Naruto shrugged.  “I have some broken ribs and my ankle’s all fucked up.”  He had a cast around his wrist as well, but he didn’t count that.  He could dribble with his other and pass instead of shooting.  Not ideal but…the ribs were the real issue.  “The ribs will take longest to heal, but they also probably won’t affect too much.  I should be back by the end of playoffs.”

            “Jesus man…broken ribs?”

            “Don’t feel bad.  It’s not your fault.”  Naruto wasn’t sure how much reassuring he could do.  Really, it was his fault.  All the way from the start of this year – before even, if he counted the first kiss – he’d made some pretty stupid decisions.  No matter what had happened, he didn’t blame his best friend for it.

            Kiba left not long after that, having an afternoon class he couldn’t afford to miss.  But Naruto wasn’t left alone for long; Ino popped in less than fifteen minutes later.  “Naruto!”  She screamed, then too latched herself onto his neck.

            “Careful,” he grunted.  “My ribs are broken you know.”

            “Sorry.”  She got off, moving instead to the chair.  “What happened?  Kiba said you were beat up behind the Akatsuki.  Your face is bruised.”

            “Yeah, well you should see the other guys.”  He gave a crooked smile.  She gave him a look in return, and he decided he couldn’t keep this a secret from her any longer.  “Ino, I need to tell you something.”

            “You can tell me anything; you know that.”

            He grimaced, glancing at the clock.  “How much time do you have?”

            “As much as you need.  My afternoon class is a joke.  Professor’s on vacation, we have a useless TA.”  It was a little weak as far as reasons went, but he appreciated it.

            “I’m not really sure where to start…”  He stumbled a little at the beginning, but told her everything.  He told her what really happened that first night Sasuke had kissed him, and how he’d spent the summer trying to forget about it.  He told her about the kiss when Sasuke drove him home and the one after the night he’d stupidly gotten drunk with her.  He left out the details from when he and Sasuke decided to be sex friends, but she got the gist.  Naruto told her the whole story – or his side of it at least – even through what happened at the bar the night before.

            “…I don’t know why I hit him.  He just…it pissed me off hearing them say those things.  They don’t know either of us, and Sasuke isn’t a pussy…”

            “Well, you were defending your friend,” she assured him.  “Those guys sounded like real assholes anyway.  I’m sure the police are searching for them.”

            “Yeah, they were in here earlier.  Apparently I’m not the first person they’ve done this to.”  He looked down at his sheets.  “There’s more.”

            Her eyebrow cocked.  “More than what you already said?”

            “Sasuke was there.  At least, I think he was.  I remember seeing him right before I passed out, and he was here when I woke up.”  Naruto sucked in a deep breath, nervous even though he hadn’t been the one to confess.  “He told me he loves me.  I thought I heard him wrong, but I didn’t.”  He looked up at her.  “What do I do?”

            “Oh Naruto…”  She grabbed his un-casted hand, more than a little pity on her face.  “You’re going to have to figure that out yourself.”

            He folded over, resting his forehead on their hands.  “I kinda figured you were gonna say that.”

            “If you like him, even just as a teammate, then you’ll go apologise to him.”

            “I didn’t know he felt…I didn’t think he’d get hurt…”  Naruto begged, his voice mumbled by the sheets.

            “I know.”

            He sat up with a sigh.  “You’re the best Ino.”

            She smiled at him, taking her hands away.  “I know that too.”

            He laughed, then his expression turned serious.  “Really though Ino.  You and Kiba are my best friends, and I’ve been a real jerk to both of you this semester.  I’m really sorry about that.”

            “Well I was pretty miserable back when I was dealing with Shikamaru leaving me, and you put up with me then.  Consider us even.”

            He was discharged before dinner, and Kiba came back to drive him home.  His ankle was still a little sore, but it was nothing some rest wouldn’t heal.  The brunet had tried to insist that he use crutches to walk around, and Naruto responded by hitting him upside the head.  The nurses wouldn’t let him take crutches he didn’t need anyway.

* * *

 

            The next day, he stopped by Coach’s office to apologise for injuring himself right before some of their biggest matches of the year.  Coach had chewed his head off, yelling something about scouts lining up to see him and now they had to wait until March Madness to watch him play, if he was lucky to get them at all.  After his rant, the coach finally calmed down and told him that he was just happy he didn’t get too hurt and that he’d be back to play soon.  It was probably the nicest thing the man had ever said to Naruto.

            He apologised to his team next, but and they just waved him off, saying they weren’t one of the top ranked teams because of _just_ Naruto.  They could kick ass by themselves until he got back.

            Then there was only one apology left. 

            It took him almost a week to get up the courage to finally confront Sasuke.  But finally he found himself standing outside his co-captain’s apartment holding a single purple rose.  He almost walked away, feeling ridiculous, but after mentally slapping himself – three or four times – he knocked.

            When Sasuke didn’t immediately answer, Naruto turned to walk away.  But a click from behind him made him freeze.  He spun around slowly as the door opened.

            The raven was standing in his door, arms crossed and expression blank as he stared unblinkingly at Naruto.  The blond sucked in a breath as he took in the other’s appearance; dark jeans and a navy tee.  He didn’t seem any different.  “Can I come in?”

            Sasuke didn’t respond; he just stepped back from the door.  Naruto mumbled “thank you” as he walked in, the door shutting immediately behind him.  The blond stared around the apartment, twirling the rose’s stem in his fingers.  He’d been here once or twice with the team, but he’d never really stopped to appreciate the place.  It was so _Sasuke_ ; the carpets were a deeper navy than his shirt but the walls were perfectly white.  There was a leather couch, a flat screen tv, and bookshelves that made it look more like a rich bachelor pad than a college student’s apartment.

            Sasuke cleared his throat, startling Naruto out of his staring.  “I take it you want to talk.”  Everything from his stance to his tone of voice to the way he was glaring at Naruto indicated that Sasuke wasn’t interested.

            The blond coughed nervously, before remembering the flower.  “I, uh, I got you this.”  He thrust it at the other who didn’t uncross his arms.  “You’re supposed to get some other purple flower as an apology according to Ino, but I don’t know what it looks like…”  Sasuke still didn’t look interested so Naruto dropped his hand, still holding the rose.

            He tried again.  “I was a real asshole to you all semester, and I wanted to apologise for that.  I had no idea you…but I shouldn’t have treated you so bad.  I mean, you could’ve told me sooner, so this is kinda your fault…”  He gulped at the near murderous look on Sasuke’s face.  “But it’s at least 80% mine.  Probably more like 90.”

            The raven walked forward, and Naruto was genuinely concerned that he was going to be punched in the face again.  Instead, Sasuke just grabbed the flower from Naruto’s hand.  He held it between his fingers, staring at the petals.  “You know, a purple rose like this means enchantment.”

            “Wow.  I, uh, didn’t know you were interested in flowers.”

            A soft smirk played on the other’s lips.  “I’m not.  It’s something I looked up when I was dating Sakura.  I guess it stuck.”

            The mention of Sakura’s name reminded Naruto of the second reason he was here.  “I’m not in love with you.”  He blurted out, immediately kicking himself for starting that way.  The smirk slipped off the other’s face.

            “I know.”  Sasuke whispered, looking away.

            “I – I don’t mean that I don’t like you though, Sasuke.  I do.  I mean…I like you.”  The raven didn’t move.  Naruto berated himself again for his lack of eloquence.  “No, Sasuke.  I mean I _like_ you.”  The other’s head whipped up, and he didn’t seem to even try hiding his surprise. 

            But he still didn’t say anything, so Naruto continued.  “I hadn’t really thought about it before, but when we were together it…it made me happy.  _You_ made me happy.  I liked being with you, and it wasn’t just ‘two guys letting off frustration together’.  I tried to tell myself it was, but it wasn’t.”  He took a deep breath – hey he was supposed to do it at least once an hour to prevent pneumonia anyway – before saying what it really was he wanted to.  “I want a second chance, if you’ll give me one.  But this time I want to do it right.  We’ll go on dates and have a first kiss and get in normal fights and everything.  I may not be in love with you right now, Sasuke, but I think…I think if you give me a chance I could be.”

            Naruto finally fell silent, his face resembling a lobster as he stared straight at Sasuke.  The raven hadn’t interrupted his speech the whole time, and even though he felt embarrassed and exposed, Naruto needed to know what his answer would be.  Sasuke blinked at him a few times before composing himself.  “’Go on dates and have a first kiss and get in normal fights’?”

            The blond would’ve been more let down if he hadn’t noticed Sasuke’s raised eyebrow and small smirk.  “Well, normal for us I guess.”

            “Oh?  And what would be normal for us?”

            Naruto smiled.  “I dunno.  Maybe we’ll fight over who gets to lead the team cheer or who has to help Coach set the line ups.”

            “You know I don’t want to lead the team cheer, and you always whine if Coach tries to make you help him set the line ups.”

            “Fine.”  He was grinning widely by this point, and Sasuke’s smirk was fully formed.  “Then we’ll fight over who gets to sleep on which side of the bed.”

            Sasuke’s expression changed, his eyes widening.  “Who sleeps on which side…?”

            Naruto realised he’d made a mistake; he’d moved too fast.  Assumed too much.  “Well, that won’t come till later.  I think we should start slow.  Do this right.”

           “Have a first kiss?”

           “Well a real first kiss.  One where I’m not drunk or just trying to get some.”

           “Really?”  The eyebrow was raised again, and Naruto knew he’d said the right thing.  “There’s a time you’re not like that?”

           “Hey!  I’m a 22 year old college student!  It’s perfectly normal for me to go to the bars every now and then!”  He would’ve argued more, but just then he saw that Sasuke was smiling.  Not smirking.  _Smiling_.  A real, genuine smile.  Naruto’s heart flipped over in his chest; he’d do anything to see that smile again.  “So what do you say, Sasuke?  Wanna give me a chance?”  The blank expression returned, and Naruto knew the raven was thinking about it.  “Please?  Just one date.  What could possibly go wrong in one date?”

           “With you?  A lot.”

           “I guess I kinda deserved that one.”

           Finally, Sasuke nodded.  “Alright.  One date.”

           Naruto had to refrain himself from physically jumping with joy.  “Are you free next Friday night?”  The other gave a slight nod.  “I’ll pick you up at 7!”  He left in a better mood than he’d been in weeks.

* * *

 

           A few days later, when he’d started to get over everything, he was woken up by his cell phone.  He didn’t glance at the caller ID before answering.  “Hello?”

           “Is this Naruto Uzumaki?”  The voice on the other side sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

           “Yeah.  Who’s this?”

           “I’m Detective Iruka from the police force.  We talked briefly a week ago about your assault.”

           Naruto sat upright, flinching a bit from the pain still evident in his chest.  “Yeah, I remember.  Did you catch the guys?”

           “That remains to be seen.  We got a call about three guys beating up some girls last night, and we brought them in.  They seem to match what you described from your encounter.  I was hoping you’d be able to come down and identify them for us.”

            He was already out of bed, pulling on socks.  “Oh hell yeah!  Let me just get dressed and I’ll be right there!”  He clicked his phone shut, threw some clothes on, scribbled a quick note to Kiba, and ran out of the apartment.

            Iruka greeted him at the police station, leading him back to a room with one way glass.  A group of guys filed out on the other side, each holding numbers.  He spotted the three from the alley immediately.  “Three, seven, and ten.  Those are the guys.”

            The detective nodded.  “Thank you Naruto.”

            “Oh no problem.  Those guys deserve to be put in jail for a long time.”

* * *

 

            Even though he wasn’t allowed to run or shoot baskets for another few weeks, Naruto still went to the team’s practices.  Coach had him help create new plays that could be done with the rest of the team and observe as they ran through them.  It was nice to be with the team, and they seemed glad to see him there.  Sometimes Kiba or Neji would yell over to him that he was being lazy and should get off his ass and join.  Naruto would laugh, but Coach would scream at them.  “If you have enough air to heckle your teammates then you should be able to run this drill correctly!  Go again!”

            The Friday of his date with Sasuke, a white-haired stranger with an eye-patch over his left eye walked into the gym.  Coach yelled for Naruto to go talk to him while he ran the team through the next drill.  He jumped up and walked over to see who the man was and what he wanted.

            “Naruto Uzumaki?”  The guy asked as he approached.

            Naruto frowned.  “Yes…who are you?”

            The man looked around pointedly.  “I think we should talk somewhere quieter.  Care to take a walk?”

            The blond glanced back to the coach, but he wasn’t paying attention to Naruto or the man.  “Uh, sure.  I guess.”  He led them out of the gym.  They walked in silence a few feet.  “Um…”  Naruto started.  “I didn’t catch your name earlier.”

            “I didn’t give it.”  Wow.  Helpful.  “But my name is Kakashi Hatake.  I’m the recruiter for the Tailed Demons.”

            Naruto’s jaw dropped.  The Tailed Demons were ranked number one in the country, and they’d been at least in the top five for the past ten years.  “Whoa…”  Was all he managed to say.     Kakashi chuckled.  “I get that reaction a lot.”

            He regained his composure.  “And you’re here to talk to me?”

            “Are you surprised?”

            “A little, yeah.”  Naruto admitted.  “I didn’t think…I mean I’m injured.  You can’t see me play in the next game or anything.  I’ll be out till the tournaments.”

            The man nodded.  “Yes, I know.  We’ve been watching you all season, though, and I must say your last game was phenomenal.  I realise you’re injured now, but if you play anywhere near how you did that game this March, we’ll be looking at signing a contract with you.”

            Naruto stopped walking, blinking at Kakashi’s back.  “You’re serious?”

            The white-haired man turned around.  “I never joke about things like this.  When do you graduate?”

            He glanced sheepishly at the ground.  “Not till next semester.  I have to retake a couple of classes.”

            Kakashi smiled knowingly.  “Understandable.  I failed a few classes the first time around back in the day too.  You’ve already used up all your playing years though, correct?”

            “Um, I think so, yeah.  And I wouldn’t be able to play anyway; half the season is in the spring semester.”

            “Right.  Well, be sure to keep practicing and stay in shape.”

            “Oh I will, I promise!”

            “But first make sure to heal yourself and not get injured again.  We can’t sign you if you don’t play in March.”

            “Yes sir!”

            The man extended his hand.  “Good luck, Naruto.  I look forward to seeing you play.”  Naruto shook his hand enthusiastically before Kakashi left.  Things were definitely looking up.

* * *

 

            For the second time in less than two weeks, Naruto stood hesitantly outside Sasuke’s apartment.  He’d been so nervous for this date that he’d changed outfits at least three times, finally settling on his nice jeans and a white button up under his jacket.  He ran a shaking hand through his hair for the umpteenth time before knocking on Sasuke’s door.

            Mere moments later, the raven opened the door.  He was dressed almost the same as Naruto, except his shirt was black.  The blond supressed a laugh at the sight; they matched without planning to.  “You ready?”  He asked instead.

            “Of course,” Sasuke responded smoothly.  “Where are we going?”

            Naruto grinned.  “You’ll see.”  The raven locked his door and followed Naruto down to his car.  The blond opened the passenger door for Sasuke, not sure what he was supposed to do on a date with another guy but he didn’t want to risk it.  He got in the driver’s seat and glanced over at the other.  Sasuke was staring calmly ahead, and Naruto resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him, instead starting the car.  “Whew,” he said out loud.  “This is kinda exciting, isn’t it?”  He didn’t wait for a reply before driving off.

            He took Sasuke to Taka, one of the high class restaurants in town, where he’d reserved one of their more private tables for two.  The table had a single candle on it, and Naruto had to say it seemed pretty romantic.  They sat awkwardly for a bit before the waiter came.  Naruto considered ordering a drink to calm his nerves, then remembered Sasuke’s comment from before and decided to just get water instead.  It took a little bit for them to start talking, but after a lame joke about the menu from Naruto and a sarcastic remark from Sasuke, they were finally able to have a normal conversation.

            They talked about a lot of things, and the blond realised that he really didn’t know a thing about Sasuke.  The raven had a dream to be a lawyer just like his older brother so they could go into business together.  He’d gotten into every law school he’d applied to after studying the entire summer for the LSAT and getting some insanely high score.  Sasuke hadn’t originally wanted to play basketball in college, but they offered him a scholarship he couldn’t refuse and – he’d turned a little pink at this – it meant he got to see Naruto almost every day during the season.

            The more Sasuke talked, the more Naruto wanted to learn.  He’d never listened quite so intently before, and he was positive the raven had never talked this much before.  After a while though, Sasuke grabbed his fork and started eating his abandoned food, demanding Naruto tell him about his life.

            The blond was sure his life wasn’t nearly as interesting, but he talked anyway.  He told Sasuke about how he’d never really thought about doing anything except play professional basketball, but if he had to do something else he’d probably teach English.  He talked about how he wanted to travel around the world someday so he could explore the Mayan ruins and see the Eiffel Tower and do all sorts of things he’d seen in movies.  He talked the rest of the way through dinner and all through dessert, barely pausing to eat.

            He paid for the check before Sasuke could open his mouth to protest.  Really, it was the least he could do.

            He didn’t want the date to end, so after they left the restaurant, he took Sasuke to a nearby park, and they walked around looking at the water fountains around.  Once they were under the trees and hidden from view, Naruto reached out and grabbed the other’s hand, turning red and glad it was too dark to see.  They talked some more about nothing important before the cold got to both of them, and they had to get back in the car.

            Naruto looked at the clock on the car and knew, with a sinking heart, that it was getting late and they both had to be at practice the next morning.  He drove Sasuke home in a companionable silence, and they held hands while they walked up the stairs.  Naruto stopped before they reached Sasuke’s apartment.

            “I had a really nice time,” he said, almost slapping himself for using the cheesiest line ever.

            “Surprisingly, so did I.”  Sasuke responded, his fingers still entwined with Naruto’s own.

            He raised his eyebrows.  “Surprisingly?  What?  Didn’t think I could take you on a good date?”

            Sasuke smirked.  “I was concerned at first.  It was all a bit cheesy.”

            Naruto dropped Sasuke’s hand so he could use his own to emphasise his words.  “Cheesy?  That was your favourite restaurant!  And your favourite park!”

            Now Sasuke was the one to raise his eyebrows.  “Who told you that?”

            “…Sakura,” Naruto admitted sheepishly.

            A strange sound erupted from Sasuke’s mouth and it took Naruto a moment to realise the raven was _laughing_.  He stood there, staring incredulously at the sight as Sasuke regained his composure.  “I’m sorry…it’s just…”  The raven giggled.  He actually giggled.  Naruto’s lips turned upward at the sight.  God, it was just so _cute_.  Finally, Sasuke pulled himself together.  “I used to do that stuff for Sakura because I thought it was what she wanted.”

            “What?”

            “I emulated what I saw in those romantic comedies she made me watch.  I thought it would make me a better boyfriend.”

            It was Naruto’s turn to laugh this time.  “You emulated _rom-coms_?  Oh god that’s good.”

            “Shut up.”

            “I’m sorry, but I don’t think those movies would approve of you telling your date to shut up.”  He giggled again at the pout on Sasuke’s face.  He’d never seen the raven pout before.  It was really a night for firsts.

            “I didn’t tell you that so you could make fun of me.”

            “Aw, Sasuke.”  He brought his hand to the other’s cheek.  “You can’t tell me something like that and expect me to _not_ make fun of you.”

            “Hn.”  The other huffed, walking the last few feet to his door.  Naruto just grinned.

            “Did those movies also tell you that you’re supposed to end the night with a kiss?”  He said, following Sasuke.  The raven stopped.

            “That’s only if you’re planning on going on a second date.”

            Naruto caught up to him, turning so he was facing Sasuke.  “And am I gonna get a second date?”  He asked quietly.

            The raven met his eyes calmly.  “That depends.  Are you going to kiss me?”

            He didn’t need to be asked twice.  Naruto closed the distance between them, his arm wrapping around the back of Sasuke’s neck.  Their eyes fluttered shut, lips meeting.  It was a soft kiss, chaste with no tongue, and it was over all too quickly.  He backed away from the other as he opened his eyes.  Naruto could feel himself smiling, and he saw the other fighting back one too.  “Goodnight Sasuke,” he brushed past the raven, heading back to his car.

            He almost missed the whispered response come from behind him.  “Goodnight…Naruto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear lord that was so cheesy. Believe it or not the original was even cheesier and more happy-ending-y. I didn't want to change it too much though, since taking out the cheese would've resulted in a completely different ending (or 10 more chapters I would've had to write from scratch). So instead, this is the slightly cheesed down version. Technically, this is the last chapter. But there's an epilogue (there's always an epilogue) so stay tuned for that! 
> 
> Thank you all for reading this. The original version is still up on fanfiction, but personally I think this one is better. I hope you enjoyed sticking around for so long!


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue: 1.5 years later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't edit very much this time. I kept it in all it's cheesy glory.

**A year and a half later**

 

            “And that was number nine, Naruto Uzumaki, with the winning basket!”

            “Yes, the rookie graduate from Konoha University was certainly a valuable asset to the team this season.”

            “He’s even earned himself a nickname, Bob.  The fans are calling him Kyuubi.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see that on the back of his jersey next season.”

            “Oh next season will be interesting.  After winning the championships for the second year in a row, the Demons are looking at including the young Gaara Sabuku in their ranks –“

            Sasuke shut the tv off.  He’d heard what he wanted, and now he needed to study for his big test the next Monday before Naruto got home.  The raven pulled out his textbook, running through some of the notes he’d made in the margins, trying to commit them to memory.  He made it through three chapters before the front door banged open.

            “Hello?  Sas’ you in here?”  He heard the blond drop his keys on the table before the door slammed shut again.  Footsteps announced the other’s approach, and Sasuke sighed; he wouldn’t be getting anything else done tonight.  “There you are.  Why’s the tv off?  Don’t you want to see all the replays?”

            “I was at the game, idiot.  Why would I want to see it again?”

            Naruto grinned, jumping over the back of the couch and landing beside Sasuke.  “Because then you’ll get to see my gorgeous self all over again.”  The raven snorted at that, looking pointedly down at his book.  Naruto followed his gaze.  “So that’s why you left early.  I thought you were done studying for that test ages ago?”

            “One can never be too prepared.  Besides, I think I’ve told you just how _important_ this is.”  He emphasized the word important so the blond wouldn’t think he’d left right after the game for something stupid instead of staying for the interviews and press conference.

            Naruto waved his hand absently.  “Yeah, yeah.  But you’ll do great.  You always do great.”

            “You’re an idiot,” Sasuke huffed, holding back a smile.

            “Oh hey, did you hear?  Gaara’s gonna be joining the team!  Can you believe that?  It was like yesterday that we were playing against him, and now me and Kiba are gonna be his teammates!  Crazy right?  I hear he’s gotten even better since –“

            Sasuke shut Naruto up in the best way he knew how, sealing their lips together.  The blond responded hungrily, diving right in and biting Sasuke’s lower lip.

            They’d been dating for over a year now, and true to Naruto’s word, they took it slow.  Painfully slow if Sasuke were asked (he wasn’t).  The blond had blushed and pushed him away, not letting Sasuke go further than kissing for months.  When they finally did, it was only because the raven had moved away for law school and the long distance was putting a strain on their relationship.  But even now, after a year and a half, they hadn’t gone further than sucking each other off.

            There was one time Naruto had gotten really drunk and let Sasuke finger him again, but the blond refused to even talk about it the next day let alone do it again.  Sasuke was starting to think they were never going to have real sex.  And it only got worse once the Demons made it to the championships; Naruto didn’t want to let Sasuke rub him off, claiming he needed to use all of his energy for basketball.  It had been a bleak couple of months, and the raven was starting to feel the strain.  So when Naruto started kissing him back, biting his lip and sucking on his tongue, he had to push himself away.  “Careful, or I won’t be able to stop myself.”

           “Who says I want you to?”  Naruto responded, his eyes darkening.  He gave Sasuke a pointed look and leaned in to kiss his jaw.

            Holy hell.  Sasuke’s eyes widened, and he pinned the blond to couch, crawling over him and kissing up his chest to his neck.  He wasn’t going to give the other a chance to change his mind; not after he’d waited this long.  The raven palmed the other’s growing erection through his pants, noting that Naruto was already half hard.  Sasuke moved his lips down to Naruto’s neck, biting down soft at first, then harsher when the blond groaned.

           “Fuck…Sasuke…”  Naruto panted, arching upward as Sasuke rubbed him through his jeans.  “Can’t we…move to the bedroom?”

            Sasuke ripped off the blond’s shirt, gaining better access to his skin.  “Waited too long,” he grunted.  “No more.”

            Naruto pushed his hand against Sasuke’s chest before the raven could attack again.  “Wait.  I know you’ve been keeping lube and condoms in there.”  The raven stared at Naruto in shock, not quite sure what he was hearing, before the words snapped into place.

            “Real sex?”  He asked, not daring to get his hopes up.

            The blond nodded, looking up at Sasuke with half lidded eyes.  Sasuke groaned at the sight; this was everything he’d wanted.  He stood up, pulling Naruto along by his belt loop.  The blond followed willingly, pushing Sasuke back towards the bedroom as his lips reclaimed the raven’s own.  They stumbled together into the room, and Naruto kicked the door shut with his foot.  Sasuke stepped back and raised an eyebrow at him.

            “Kiba has a spare key,” Naruto shrugged, answering the unasked question, before pushing Sasuke down on the bed.  He tugged at the raven’s t-shirt.  “Doesn’t seem fair that you still have this on.”  Sasuke got the hint, and tugged it off, circling his arms around Naruto’s neck.  He smirked up at the blond before wrapping his legs around the other’s hips and flipping their positions.  Naruto pouted up at him.

            Sasuke ran his fingers down the tan chest.  Naruto really had been keeping himself in shape.  He traced his hand slowly across the blond’s abdomen and to his jeans.  Slowly, deliberately, Sasuke unbuttoned them.

            “Sas’…”  Naruto gasped.  The raven’s smirk grew; he knew it drove the blond crazy when he moved too slowly.  “I wanna…”

            Sasuke shook his head, pulling the blond’s pants off.  “You won’t even finger me; your preparation would be awful.  Besides,” he moved up, leaning against the blond’s chest and dropping his voice down to the gravelly tone he only used when he wanted Naruto to obey, “you’ve had a hard day.”  The blond groaned, arching his hips up so his erection met Sasuke’s still fully clothed groin.  Sasuke gripped the bed sheets in his fist, holding back any sound from escaping his lips.  When Naruto lowered his back onto the mattress the raven reached blindly into his bed side table, grabbing a condom and the bottle of lube; he didn’t want to have to come back for them later.

            He slid back down Naruto’s body until he hovered once more over the blond’s barely concealed erection.  He gave Naruto one last glance – which was returned by a look he knew as ‘do it now’ – and ripped the other’s boxers off.  Naruto let out a harsh gasp as his cock met the cold air.  He strained upward, but was held down by Sasuke’s hands.  The blond was already leaking, and Sasuke knew if he didn’t play his cards right this would all be over before he could even get his own jeans off.

            The raven lowered his lips just to the side of Naruto’s twitching cock, kissing then nipping the sensitive skin of the blond’s hip.  “Sas’!”  The other cried out, trying to arch his hips again.  Sasuke held them down before moving to Naruto’s other side.  “Nngh!”

            “Use your words, Naruto.”  Sasuke taunted, blowing lightly on the other’s erection.  The blond whimpered in response, and Sasuke could see sweat dripping down the other’s collarbone.  “I don’t know what you want if you don’t ask.”  He lowered his lips, barely touching them to the tip before raising his eyes to meet the other’s.

            Naruto was panting, his pupils dilated.  “I want…”  He gasped.  “Your mouth…”

            Sasuke grabbed the bottle of lube, pouring some onto his hands and rubbing them together, his eyes never leaving Naruto’s.  “Where?”  He kept his voice low, soft, and the other’s eyes darkened further.

            “On me…oh god on me Sasuke.”  Naruto groaned.

            The raven smirked; this was too easy.  “Where on you, Naruto?  You’re over six feet tall.”  He spoke each word deliberately.  “Be specific.”  Sasuke lowered his head once more, knowing the blond’s answer.

            Naruto stuttered to respond.  “On – on my cock!  Sasuke please!”  The raven didn’t make him beg anymore; he slipped the tip of Naruto’s erection into his mouth.  The blond moaned in pleasure, and Sasuke took the opportunity to slip one finger inside Naruto.  The other didn’t seem to notice, so Sasuke moved it further inside as he took Naruto deeper into his mouth.  He spun his finger around as he bobbed up again, and the blond finally realized something was inside him.  “You’re…in me,” Naruto gasped.

            Sasuke bobbed his head down again, moving his finger even further inside the blond.  It hit something and Naruto gasped.  Sasuke sat up, taking his finger out and thrusting it in again to the same spot.  Naruto moaned.  His other hand grasped Naruto’s erection and pumped it with the same pace as his other hand.  When the blond stopped clenching his muscles around Sasuke’s digit, he removed it to add more lube.

            Naruto whimpered at the loss, and Sasuke thrust back in with two fingers.  He hadn’t had time to warm them as much, but the blond didn’t seem to mind.  He was jerking his hips down, seeming to enjoy Sasuke’s fingering more than the hand job.  The raven lowered his lips and took Naruto in his mouth once more.  “N-no,” Naruto gasped immediately.  “Too – Too much.”  The raven could taste salt in his mouth, and knew the blond wasn’t going to make it much longer if he kept this up.  Sasuke sat up, moving his hand back to the other’s thigh instead.  His fingers scissored inside Naruto, spreading him further than they had that time in the alley, or even the time the blond had gotten drunk.  The blond arched up, gasping for air, and Sasuke knew he’d have to finish preparing Naruto soon if he wanted to join in on the fun.

            He removed his fingers from Naruto and fumbled with his pants.  The blond grumbled at first, but upon seeing what Sasuke was trying to do, he sat up and helped.  In moments, Sasuke was naked and pushing Naruto back down.

            “I want you in me Sasuke.  Now.”  The blond demanded, pushing himself down toward Sasuke’s straining erection.

            The raven’s eyes widened.  For someone who was so against it for so long, Naruto seemed to be enjoying it immensely.  “I don’t think you’re ready; I only used 2 fingers.”  He said, grabbing more lube.

            The look in the other’s eyes was one Sasuke rarely saw; Naruto was determined, and nothing was going to stop him from getting what he wanted.  “Put it in, or I’ll cum right now without you.”  It wasn’t an idle threat.  The raven reached out, snatching a condom and ripping off its wrapper.

            It was already coated with lube, but he wiped what was left on his hands onto it anyway.  He looked up once at the blond, who was staring at him with that same determined expression.  “Are you sure?”  Naruto’s eyes narrowed in response.

            Sasuke lined his hips up and slowly eased himself in.  He was right; Naruto wasn’t prepared enough, but if the look on the blond’s face was anything to go by, he had to get it in.  He met with resistance at first, so Sasuke lifted one of his hands that was braced against the bed to Naruto’s cheek.  “Relax,” he soothed.  “Relax.”  He ran his fingers behind the blond’s ear and felt Naruto sigh.  The resistance decreased, and his tip slid in.  He pushed the rest of his shaft in just as slowly, breathing out a sigh of relief when he was fully sheathed.  “It’s in,” he announced to Naruto.

            “I know…”  The blond moaned, his voice laced with pain.  “Just _move_.”  Sasuke looked down and saw the other’s erection shrinking.  He wrapped one hand around Naruto’s cock, pumping it with the lightest pressure the way he knew the other liked while he waited for Naruto’s breathing to slow.  Once Naruto’s scrunched brows loosened, Sasuke moved.  He raised his hips, inching out of the blond slowly, before thrusting back in and repeating.  Sasuke kept this slow, light pace until Naruto reached up and grabbed his hips.  The blond dug his nails in, lifting Sasuke higher, and thrusting him in harder.  Once the raven obeyed, Naruto let his hands drop, instead holding onto Sasuke’s thighs.

            The new pace – harder, faster, deeper – took all the raven’s effort, and he soon abandoned his hand job, holding himself up instead.  His left thigh was starting to cramp, so he shifted his weight more onto his right before thrusting himself in again.  Naruto made a sound that was some cross between a whimper and a moan, and Sasuke knew he’d found the other’s prostate.  He pulled out further, so only the tip was still inside before pushing back in.

            “Sasuke!”  He felt Naruto’s nails dig into his thighs, and for a second Sasuke was afraid he’d hurt the blond.  He paused, holding himself back, but Naruto was having none of it.  “Again,” the blond breathed.  “Just like that.”  Sasuke looked down and saw Naruto leaking again.  He was getting close.

            He thrust out and in that way again and again, sweat dripping down his neck and onto Naruto’s chest.  From the sounds he was making, Sasuke knew the blond wasn’t going to last much longer.  Hell, he wasn’t sure _he_ could last much longer.  Not the way things were going.  His arms shook under him with the next thrust, and Naruto reached up to steady them.  “Just – just a little more,” the blond gasped.  “Al-almost there.”

            One look at Naruto’s face – red, sweaty, glowing – was enough.  Sasuke moved with renewed vigor, rubbing past the blond’s prostate with each thrust.  “Sa-Sas!”  Naruto yelled, voice completely wrecked.  Sasuke felt the blond clench around him as he released onto his stomach.  The combination of that and hearing his name being screamed out by the man he loved was too much; one more thrust and Sasuke came with a hoarse cry.  He collapsed on top of Naruto, boneless.

            The two of them lay still for a few moments until Sasuke felt himself start to shrink.  He sat up and pulled out of Naruto, pinching the end of the condom together and tossing it into the trash next to their bed.  With a sigh of relief, he fell back onto the mattress, facing Naruto.  The blond turned towards him, his expression content.  “Hey,” he smiled, his voice still hoarse.

            “Hey” Sasuke replied, reaching out to pet the other’s hair.  It was drenched with sweat, and the blond was covered in his own cum, but they were both too tired to move.  The raven leaned forward, pressing a light kiss to the other’s brow.

            “What was that for?”  Naruto asked as the other pulled away.        

            Sasuke resumed petting the other’s hair.  “To thank you.”

            “Hmmm,” Naruto hummed contentedly, closing his eyes.  He was always tired after coming, and Sasuke knew the game earlier only intensified that.  He probably had moments until the blond fell asleep.  Naruto’s leg jerked out in a twitch, and he opened his eyes suddenly.  “Sorry.  Must’ve passed out.”  He spoke in a low voice, his eyes already drifting shut again.

            “It’s fine,” Sasuke promised, his fingers still brushing through the other’s hair.  “I can clean up.”  He’d done it before.

            “No,” Naruto mumbled, his voice barely there.  “There was something I wanted to tell you.”  He was fading fast, staying awake through sheer will power.

            “Tell me in the morning.”

            “No.”  Naruto’s eyes were barely open; they weren’t focusing on anything.  “Tell you…love…you…Sas.”  He managed before his eyes fluttered shut.

            Sasuke’s heart flipped over in his chest.  Naruto had never told him he loved him before, not in words.  Sometimes the blond would do things for him – cook him breakfast, bring him a blanket when he passed out on his textbooks – that would make Sasuke think Naruto really was in love with him, but the blond had never _actually_ said it.  Even this half asleep confession was something precious.  The raven wrapped his arms around Naruto, pulling him close despite the even breathing now coming from the blond.  He kissed the top of Naruto’s head, letting his own eyes close briefly.  “I love you too, Naruto.”  It was the first time he’d repeated the words he’d said in the hospital, and the blond wasn’t even awake for them.  He chuckled softly; they were bound to do everything backwards it seemed.

            After lying there for a few moments, Sasuke pushed himself off the bed.  He could wait and clean the sheets in the morning – they’d managed to avoid most of the mess – but he should at least wipe the sticky residue off himself and Naruto.  And then in the morning, he’d see if he could get the blond to confess his love one more time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for putting up with this! This was the edited, and refined version of this story, which was originally posted on fanfiction. It was fun revisiting the world, and I hope you all enjoyed the ride. <3


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